Re: [CH] Cracked pods
T. Matthew Evans (tmattevans@yahoo.com)
Tue, 2 Sep 2003 07:21:54 -0700 (PDT)
JohnT --
Water uptake by plant roots can only occur at some maximum rate typically
governed by the degree of saturation (volumetric moisture content) of the
rooting medium. At very high degrees of saturation not typically seen in
nature (but reproducible in the laboratory), the environment becomes anaerobic
and the plant will not transpire. Since this is rare, moisture uptake by roots
will be governed by the fact that the soil exists at some degree of saturation
below that corresponding to the maximum uptake rate of the roots (i.e., there
is a moisture defecit).
I hypothesize that: (1) your soil was at a degree of saturation that would
allow the plant roots to uptake water at or near their maximum rate; (2) that
this condition existed for an extended period of time; and (3) that plants are
not "smart" enough to know when they should stop absorbing water and will
continue to do so as long as it is available. There was so much water
available that the aplnts absorbed it until the pods cracked.
In the first paragraph above, I think I know what I am talking about. The
second paragraph is a WAG.
Matt
--- Love2Troll <Love2Troll@kc.rr.com> wrote:
> We got 5" (12.7cm) of rain in August. Just about what I would want.
> Unfortunately, it was all at once. It caused all my ripe & near-ripe bell
> peppers to crack like tomatoes & most of the ripe rocotos on my deck plant
> too.
>
> I've often wondered just why tomatoes and peppers crack after a heavy rain.
> I've had continuous drip systems and hydroponics systems with no cracking.
> Does water pressure have anything to do with it? Can water be literally
> forced into roots by the weight of the water?
>
> JohnT
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