|
--- ted.held@us.henkel.com wrote:
> Well, I don't seem to have provoked much of a
> discussion on how aroids
> without chlorophyl can long survive. Feeding them
> with a carbohydrate base
> food does seem to be the only route, albeit with the
> risk of
> simultaneously feeding unwanted fungi, bacteria, and
> soil insects. Here
> are some additional thoughts.
>
> As I pointed out before, we have the analog of
> parasitic plants and
> plant-like things, which tap into viable sap flowing
> in host species and
> make their living that way. There are also plants,
> such as what are known
> as terrestrial orchids, which pair symbiotically
> with soil fungi to
> acquire and share essential nutrients that neither
> can manage on their
> own. This orchid arrangement allows the plants to
> survive for several
> seasons underground, with no leaf production, and
> revive with no apparent
> deterioration when conditions allow. Terrestrial
> orchids deprived of this
> fragile symbiosis usually die quickly. That is why
> it is futile, in most
> cases, to try to transplant wild terrestrial orchids
> to home gardens. This
> symbiosis may either occur with aroids or be a model
> that can make
> plausible carbohydrate acquisition by some other
> pathway by a ghost plant.
>
> We have to recognize here that we are speaking of
> two classes of essential
> uptakes by plants. First there are the nutrients. By
> this I mean the
> typical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK),
> so-called trace
> nutrients (several elements), and probably some
> small molecules that elude
> ready identification. Presumably ghost plants are
> able to perform this
> usual task as well as fully-equipped plants with
> chlorophyl. The second
> class of nutrient is the one that contains the main
> energy-containing
> substances. These compounds are the carbohydrates,
> fats, and proteins and
> comprise compounds that can be metabolized for
> caloric needs and the main
> components of tissue construction. Plants are
> usually thought to make
> these materials by photosynthesis. For animals,
> "food" consists primarily
> of these substances, acquired by eating organic
> matter originally built
> from photosynthesis. The mineral and "vitamin"
> nutrients are gathered
> along the way, by and large as an incidental of
> normal eating. If a plant
> finds itself a ghost, it must receive NPK nutrients
> as well as calories
> from some source or starve.
>
> Clearly, ghost plants are not making anything by
> photosynthesis because we
> assume that it is established science that
> chlorophyl is necessary for
> this activity. If they are able to live after
> exhausting their own stored
> materials in their seeds or bulbs, or whatever other
> reservoirs are
> available, it must mean they are getting these bulky
> supplies by another
> method. Absorption from the environment in some way
> seems to be the only
> available option.
>
> How much caloric matter may be necessary for a plant
> to continue to exist
> may be approximated by how large its reservoir is.
> If a seedling's
> reserve weighs a gram and that reserve takes a month
> to deplete, then a
> plant of its type and size will need roughly a gram,
> dry weight, of
> solublized caloric nutrition absorbed into its
> system every month. If a
> fist-sized bulb is drawn down in a season, then
> perhaps 500 or 1000 grams
> of dry weight caloric matter may be required to keep
> the plant going for a
> season. The idea would be to figure out how to meter
> out this amount of
> material over time and devise a broth most suitable
> for plant uptake.
>
> Pouring on excess amounts of material would, indeed,
> encourage fungi and
> gnats to take over. Pouring on caloric matter in a
> form impervious to
> absorption would also be a waste. But the
> appropriate soup, dripped in (or
> on) carefully seems entirely feasible.
>
> The practical uses for such techniques may extend
> beyond keeping a ghost
> alive. It could be a method to assist a wounded
> plant over a rough patch
> in its life. It could be a method for enhancing the
> growth of healthy
> plants for other purposes. And it would be just
> nifty to know it is
> possible to do it.
>
> My initial thought is that perhaps one of the media
> broths used for
> bacteria cultures might be a start. These contain a
> base of caloric matter
> as well as a wealth of smaller nutrients. Has anyone
> on the list ever
> heard of such a thing?>
_______________________________________________
> Aroid-l mailing list
> Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
> http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l
>
____________________________________________________
Yahoo! Sports
Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________
Aroid-l mailing list
Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l
|
IAS on Facebook
IAS on Instagram
