Page 44 - EVS Class 04

Food-Storing Roots
Plants like carrot, radish, beetroot and turnip

store food for the plant in their roots. We eat
these roots as vegetables.

Beetroot Radish
Food-Storing Roots

Pull out some grass from the ground. What kind of a root it has? Now, pull out a
plant of tulsi and observe what kind of a root it has?

Propagating Roots

Such roots have buds close to the surface of the ground. These buds can
grow into new independent plants, as in the case of cherry and strawberry
plants.

During drought and famine, when there is scarcity of food, people dig out roots
from the dry soil and eat them.

Importance of Roots

g Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil and send them to

different parts of the plants.

g Heavy rain and a strong wind washes or blows away the topsoil. This is
called soil erosion. Roots bind the soil and prevent soil erosion.

g Roots play a very important role in the growth of a plant. Roots hold
the plant firmly to the soil. Thus, even when a strong wind blows, the

plants do not get uprooted.

Many human activities adversely affect the roots of plants. Activities like
construction cause a lot of damage to the roots of the trees planted on the
roadsides.

The Shoot System

The shoot system of a plant is the part of the plant that grows above the

ground. Stem, leaves and flowers form the shoot system of a plant. All these
parts carry out different functions and help the plants in different ways.

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