The art ot transplanting is probably practced more widely than other in horticuluturl work, except that of planting seed. It is important in the growing of flowers, vegetable ,and fruits. Many vegetble crops are astrted in specially prepared seedbeds and later moved to the field. Building sites are quickly made attractive,parks are established, high-ways are provided withe shade, orchard and small-fruit plantations are established, forests are replanted, and flowering plants are rendered more valuable - all by various adptations of this practice. The distance involved may be small or great, only a few feet or hundreds of miles. Success in either case depends partly upon care exercised in the three rather4 distinct operations of digging, moving to the new location, and replanting. It depends, also, On the kind of plant, the condition of the plant, and upon certain environmental factors, as , for example, humidity and temperature .
When a plant is Transplanted.
It many resume growth in due time -either promptyly or delayed -or it may die. To survive, the plant must have sufficient reserve -food materials to sustain repiration and to support the initial growth of roots and top. In addition, It must have, or it must develop quickly , roots to take up sufficient moisture to provide for transpiration from the top of the plant . The important role of nuturients in the recovery of a transplanted plant is closely assouicate with the absorption of moisture. Treatments or conditions that reduce the rate of water loss from the top by transpiration, and enable the root system to absorb water and nutrients, more readily increse the chances of survival of the plant
Methods of Moving Plants.
Three general methods are used in Moving plants.........
Bare-rooted. One common method of moving horticulture plants ins known as bare-rooted transplanted .By this method the root system is removed from the soil in which it has grown ,and is replanted in a new location. The root system of a plant moved in this way is seriously damaged by physical injury, and it is subjected to some exposure, both of which are likely to destroy root hairs and growing root tips and to handicap the plant in renewing growth. Nevertheless, this method is used widely for herbaceous plants and for deciduous trees and shrubs.
Shifting.
Plants may be moved also by shifting , and operation whereby plants are strted in post or similar containers, and from these moved to a larger container or to a permanent location. By this method the soil remains intact, with little or no damage to the root system.This is a means whereby species that do not stand transplanting well are successfully moved.
Balling and Burlapping.
Practically the same results as shifting may be obtained for larger plants by balling and bur lapping. In doing this, the plants are dug to include the main roots intact in a ball of earth, which is supported by burlap. This procedure is commonly used in moving evergreen plants, as described later, and also deciduous species during the growing season.
Herbaceous Plants.
Many vegetable and flowering plants are transplanted when in a tender, succulent, growing condition. The success with which such plants can be transplanted depends on several factors.
Formation of New Roots.
Plants of some species don not stand transplanting well. This is true of corn and many of the peas and beans . It is true also of plants of the cucurbits, such as the watermelon , cantloupe, and squash, These plants are difficult to transplant because they form new roots slowly and because the roots early develop a suberized layer which makes them ineffective in the direct absrption of watrer. Root hanrs are largely lost in transplanting, and ezcept under most favorable envirnm=nmental conditions, the plants can be moved satisfactorily only by shifting. On the country, many herbaceous plants can be transplanted readily . Thise is true of such common vegetable as the tomato, pepper, vabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onion, and others,It is true also of many flowers as , for example, zinnia, tetunia, apparently because they form new roots quicklyu and arem apparently because they form new roots quickly and are hence, soon able to supp;ly the top with moisture, This characteristic is especially noticeable in tomatoes, recently transppanted plants will often form new roots by the second or third day following transplanting . In moving a plant from one location to another, it is desirable not only that the plant live ,but it renew growth as quickly as possible.
Care in Hardening.
Strong, stocky plants that have been properly hardened in the seedbed stand transplanting better than soft, succulent plants. Hardening occurs when the growth of plants is retarded . It is aqccompished principally by (1) subjecting the plants to relatively lower temperatures, by (2) withholding moisture, and by (3) applying solutions of certain chemicals, such as nitrates and chlordes of potassium, sodium, and calextrem, lest the plants be dwarfed severely. The object of hardening is to check the grwth of the plant to the extent that it may be abloe to stand adverse conditions after transplanting to the field , such as higher or lower tempertures, wind , dry soil or air, and hot sunsine. In the process of hardening, the wqater content of the plants is reduced, and the osmotic concentration incresed correspordingly. This condition makes them more retentive of moisture, which is the primarey requsite for hardiness to cold, heat, or drought. Hardened plants have a better developed of new roots and thereby enable it to become established more readily . Stored food a;sp enables the plant to endure longer berore it is wekened by respiration to apint wher it can no longer respond . Furthemore, hardened plants don notr lose water by transpiration son rapidly as those not hardened.hardenig I desirable even for plants that are to be shifted from post to the field.
Care in Handling.
Te care exercised in handling herbaceous plants determines, in a large messure, their response following transplanting. They should be removed from the seedbed with as much of thir root system as is practicable and replanted with the least possible delay. They should be pretected in the meantime by wet sacks, damp moss, or some other moist insulating matrerial. Often the roots are 'puddled' and operation wherby the roots are dipped in a thick mun in order to protect them from excessive drying while they are exposed. In replanting they should be set slightly deeper than t=they stood in the seed the soil should be pressed firmly about the roots and water should be added to settle the soil and increase th amount of available moisture.
Weather Conditions.
The rate of transpiration is relatively low on cool, mostt, cloudy days, The same process normally goes on more slowly late in the afternoon and during the night than during midday. Water requrements are hence less, and the injured root system is able to supply the top more adequately than would be the case if the plant were using more water in transpiration. Thus, Plants have a better chance to survive if moced late in the afternoon or on days that are still, cool, cloudy, and humid.
Deciduous Trees and Shrubs.
The grape, walnut, peach fig, and rese are examples of deciduous plants.Bare-toote transplanting is the method commonly used in transplanting these plants, and the recovery and renewed growth of them is influenced largerly by the extent to which transpiration is controlled, by the ability of the plant to develop new functional roots, and by the amount of reserve foods present in the plant.
Transpiration..
Most transpiration goes on through the leaves therefore a logical time to transplant deciduous plants is during their dormant period. It is true that the tree is expected to produce new shoots and leaves when it resumes growth the following spring, but in the meantime it will usually have developed new roots sufficient to supply the entire plant adequately with moisture. It is customary to cut back the top of tree and shrubs so as to reduce the amount of foliage produced and thus restrict transpiration to an amount likely to be supplied by the root system, or int growth the same results can be obtained by partial or complete defoliation. Coating the top tree with melted paraffin, Paraffing emulsion, or similar preparartion reduces evaporation and the consequent weakening of the top.
New Root Formation.
Moisture essential for top growth of plants is absored largely by root hairs or other very minute feeder roots. These are ordinarily destroyed when the tree or shrub is removed from the soil.Furthemore, the tips of small and large roots, the regions from whic feeder roots aries, are destroyed. Thus, Nes branch roots most arise from the pericycle of the portion of the root making primary groth that is near the growing tips. These root tips, However ,are usually completely destroyed in bare-rooted transplanting, and any new roots that form must then necessarily develop from the cambium of older root-those that are making secondery growth. Trhese aresaid to be adventitious roots. Some kinds of plants produced such roots readily, others less readily. Differences in formation of adventitious roots possoblity account for the ease of transplanting the peach and the difficulty encountered in transpiration plantingh the pecan.There is some evidence to indicate that adventitious roots normally form more readily on small roots than onlarger roots of the same plant. Small roots, However, suffer more from drying and other injury. Root pruning during the growing season before a plant is to be moved results in more root branching and a more compact root system. In digging such plants a greater portion of the root system is obtained than is likely when the practce is not followed.
Cerain plants produce adventive roots more readily as the buds begin growth and leaves are formed in the spring . The walnut, pecan ,and persimmon are examples of plants of this class. Tthebest time for transplanting them is in late winter or early spring, when ther wqill be the least delay in initiation or root development.
The formation of adventitious roots may be encouraged or hastened by the use of certain chemicals, notably indoleacetic and indolebutyric acid, applied in various ways. Indolebutyric acid has been used successfully in encouraging new root formation in th epecan. Holes are bored transversely into the tap and lateral roots, and toothpicks whic have been soaked in a soultion of the acid so that they each contain 4 milligrams, are insetred in the hloes.Roots form much more readily at points receiving these treatments than at other plances.
New root inrmation takes place most redily in a wee-aerated soil. If the soil where the tree is planted fis kept watrerlogged by raingall or by excessive irrigation, new root formatrion is discouraged and the pllant is likely to suffer.
to suffer
Reserve Foods.
Plants that have made a normally vigorous growth in th nursery stand transplanting better than those that have made restricted growth because of a better supply og reserve- food materials. The reserve food encourages a rsadier formation of adventitious roots and better to growth , and it supports respiration of th e plants more adequately in the meantime.
Two rather distinct practices are followed in the replanting of trees .According ton noe, the tree is placed in the hole slightly deeper than it stood in the nursery. Loose soil is added and pressed firmly about the roots,which are adjusted from thime to time in their nautural postion as far as possible. Sod, clods, and subsuil encountered in diggingthe hole should be used last in filling in around the tree and should not be packed in around the roots. It is not advisable to add manure of fertilzer to the soil around the recently transplanted tree.
According to another practice, the soil is shoveled in around the roots of the plant, without any effort to pack it. WHen the hole is almost filled, without any effort to pack it. after which the rest of the hole is filled. In either case it is important to handle the tree so that the root system is protected against drying or freezing the root system with tick mud, as described for herbaceous plants, ins a convenient way to protect is agains dry ing.
Evergreen Trees and Shrubs.
Plants that retain their foliage throughout the year known as evergreens. There are two principal kinds. The rhododendron, box avocado, certain species of ligusturm, and citrus are examples of the so-called : transplanting "broad-leaved" evergreen plants. The pines, cedars, junipers, firs and arborvitaes are examples of coniferous evergreen. In each of these kinds, because of thepresence of leaves on aplant, the rate of transpiration is far greaer than it is without them, and the moisture required to keep the plant alive is corresponkingly greater. Dvergreen plants are rarely moved bare-rooted, because in most instances the moisture lost by transpiration from the leaves is greater than can be supplied by th injured root system Death is inevitable if such a condtion exixts fore very ling. Two courses of action may be followed.
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