It is essential to know how grazing affects pomegranate roots. Grazing has a variety of ecological effects that might be advantageous or detrimental. Grazing has its advantage and disadvantages and this will be discussed more in this article.
What animals graze on pomegranate roots?
Squirrels is the major animals that graze on pomegranate roots. Pomegranates are good to go without your squirrels around. Other plants that squirrels graze on includes:
- butternut
- cedar
- dogwood
- elm
- hackberry
- hemlock, hickory
- maple
- mulberry pine
- spruce
- seeds
- corn
- bark1.
Having animals grazing on plants have both advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of grazing is that it allows for the regeneration and coexistence of other attractive grasses and wildflowers, livestock grazing lessens the competition from undesirable plants. However, the disadvantage of grazing could be more disastrous to the plants. Grazing has an impact on a plant’s root system, food production after defoliation, and the location of food products inside the plant after defoliation. It also has an adverse also to the leaves of plant.
Pomegranate roots nutrient absorption rates under different temperatures?
Pomegranates do not really absorb nutrients in cold weather because the tree is usually dormant at that time. In the cold weather, pomegranate nutrient absorption rate is slower because pomegranate is highly dependent on sunlight for growth and development.
The rate of nutrient transport and absorption for the pomegranate roots in mass flow is known to be decreased as a result of the increased viscosity at low temperatures, which are known to lower rates of water intake by roots and transit within the plant. Similar to this, soil temperature has a direct impact on the diffusion process that moves nutrient ions from high to low concentration locations in the root of the plant.
For pomegranate plant, at an average temperature, the nutrient absorption is higher because of the operation of sunlight in the process of nutrient absorption. The best temperature for pomegranate is between 30 – 38 degree celcius. This temperature helps pomegranate plant to carry out photosynthesis for effectively.
At a very high temperature nutrient absorption can be affected and damages can be done to the root of the plant. Extreme temperature doesn’t just affect the nutrient absorption of plants but also has a negative influence on plant root development, photosynthetic and transpiration efficiency, and transpiration rates. All of this mentioned can have an adverse effect on yield. Also when the temperature is very high, plant transpiration is unable to keep up with the high atmospheric evaporative demand. Also, high temperature can change how quickly water is transported from the soil to the root and plant system thereby causing poor growth to the plant.
However, some plants thrive well in very high temperature and examples of these plants are:
- Butterfly weed
- Lantana
- Zinnia
- Yucca
- Purple coneflower.2
Preferable environment for pomegranate roots?
Pomegranate thrives in environments with sandy loam soil that drains well. Also for the best performance for pomegranate plants, it should be planted in an environment that has adequate sunlight (about six hours sunlight). An environment with a well drained soil will prevent attack on plant roots, weakness of plants, and deadness of plant roots.
Can the root distribution of pomegranate roots be altered?
Yes it can be altered. Numerous factors, such as soil type, soil fertility, depth, temperature, mechanical resistance within the soil, aeration, soil moisture content, tree species, age, and health, planting density can affect root spread.
When there is a change in any of these factors is changed, it can alter the root distribution of pomegranate roots.
How fast does pomegranate roots absorb nutrients from the soil?
The rate at which pomegranate roots absorb nutrients is dependent on the soil structure of the soil. Pomegranate absorbs nutrients more in a well drained soil. Also if you are using a fertilizer, it is essential to read the instructions on how to use it as this will help the plant to be able to absorb nutrients faster and easier.
Can the DNA of pomegranate roots be altered?
Yes they can be altered and this is mostly done by genetic modification. In this process, DNA is inserted into an organism’s genome as part of the GM technology. New DNA is introduced into plant cells to create a GM plant. The cells are typically cultured in tissue culture after which they transform into plants. The modified DNA will be passed along to the seeds that these plants generate. Here are some of genetic modification is carried out:
- To increase the nutrient in the plant
- To produce tastier fruits
- To produce plants that can withstand disease and drought and use fewer resources from the environment (such as water and fertilizer)
- To reduce the use of pesticide use.
- To increase food supply at a lower cost.
- To produce plants that grows more quickly3
However GM has it disadvantages and this includes:
1. The environment may be harmed: Due to the fact that genetically modified crops are not grown in a natural manner, they can pose a harm to the environment.
2. It has unwelcome aftereffects: Unwanted leftover chemicals from a genetically modified plant may persist in the soil for a long time.
3. The variety of crops is in danger.
Because GM genes have the potential to spread to other organic farm crops and endanger crop diversity in agriculture, there is opposition to their introduction. Additionally, if crop diversity declines, it will directly affect our entire ecosystem and have an impact on the dynamics of other organisms’ populations.4
How to extract the DNA of pomegranate roots?
There are several DNA extraction techniques accessible, ranging from rapid and simple to commercial kits with highly purified columns.
In general, plant DNA extraction processes must complete the following five steps:
- Cell wall breakdown: Use a mortar and pestle to pound the tissue in dry ice or liquid nitrogen to dissolve the cell walls and release the contents of the cells.
- Cell membrane disruption: In order for the DNA to be released into the extraction buffer once the cell wall has been shattered, the cell membranes must also be damaged. This is done by researchers employing a detergent, typically CTAB or SDS buffers.
- DNA protection: Endogenous nucleases may break down DNA once it has been released into the extraction buffer. Some chemicals, such as EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), a chelating agent that binds magnesium ions—essential cofactors for the majority of nucleases—are employed to stop DNA deterioration.
- DNA separation: The DNA is kept apart from other elements in the extraction buffer (like proteins, polysaccharides, and phenolics). To achieve isolation, the buffer/tissue mixture is emulsified with either phenol or chloroform to denature and remove the pollutants from DNA.
- DNA precipitation: After impurities are removed, the DNA is typically recipitated using ethanol at a 70% concentration before being dissolved in water. Lastly, DNA is kept at -20°C.5
Reasons why we extract DNA of plants:
Extracting DNA is of vital importance for the development of diagnostics and treatments as well as for research into the genetic causes of disease. It makes it feasible to carry out forensic science, sequence genomes, detect germs and viruses in the environment, and establish paternity.
Are pomegranate roots bad for the foundation of buildings?
Pomegranate root is not invasive but it is better to keep them meters apart from the buildings of church. Unlike other plants, pomegranate isn’t that troublesome or stressful around buildings because of their shallow root.
How fast does pomegranate roots spread nutrients?
Pomegranate spread nutrient well, especially when there is availability of enough sunlight and when the root is healthy and fertile. Healthy roots helps the pomegranate to transport nutrients to different part of the plants. Some of those nutrient include oxygen, water, nitrogen, etc
