I shall proceed to give an account of my investigations on the response of the root to direct and indirect unilateral stimulation. We shall study:—
(1) The Mechanical response to Direct unilateral stimulus.
(2) The Electrical response to Direct unilateral stimulus.
(3) The Mechanical response to Indirect unilateral stimulus.
(4) The Electrical response to Indirect unilateral stimulus.
MECHANICAL RESPONSE TO DIRECT STIMULUS.
As the geotropic responses of the shoot and the root are opposed to each other, the object of the investigation is to find out; whether the response of the root to various stimuli is specifically different from that of the shoot. We have seen that tissues in general respond to direct unilateral stimulus by contraction of the proximal and expansion of the distal side, the tropic curvature being thus positive. We shall now determine whether direct unilateral stimulation of the root induces a tropic movement which is similar or dissimilar to that exhibited by the shoot.
Experiment 178.—In experimenting with roots of various plants I obtained results which are precisely similar to that of the shoot. The movement of the root was observed by means of a reading microscope focussed on the tip of the organ. I employed various forms of stimuli, mechanical, thermal, and chemical. Unilateral application of these on one side of the growing region gave rise to a positive tropic curvature, resulting in a movement towards the stimulus. These experiments confirm Sachs' observation that unilateral application of stimulus in the region of growth induces positive curvature of the root.