OK for awhile now I have seen time and again people say "PUT THE TAP ROOT DOWN!!!!" when advising people on how to put a germinated seed to soil. I am curious why so many people seem to think this is such a big issue?

I studied botony heavily as an undergraduate, and during a lab one day I specifically remember the PhD remarking that it makes no difference which way the tap root faces; it will grow down even if initially facing up (there was a lecture about gravitropism). The shoot will likewise grow upward even if "upside down." This is due to a process called gravitropism. Plants can feel gravity, and they know which way is up. Remember, with seeds that grow wild, not all of them were "put in right side up" - they just grew where they fell.

So why do so many people get hung up on which way seeds go in soil? If anyone doesn't believe me, check this out:

Gravitropism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or better yet, get a botony textbook and read it for yourself if you don't trust Wiki.

As a side note, this was my favorite biology prof I ever had. Through my junior and senior years a few select students including myself would go out on weekend expeditions collecting specimens for the herbarium (a library of plants with dried specimens). During these outings, we would most certainly drink (even though 3 / 4 of us were under 21), and listen to quite entertaining ramblings of the good Dr's younger years when he actively grew and partook of both the fine herb and shrooms. Since we had all known him since we were freshmen (we were all biology majors and he taught a freshman bio class we had taken), we had all become fairly close friends with him as we advanced to our major courses, and by the 3'rd year I guess he just felt comfortable enough telling those stories to us. Either way, it sure explains why he always got so animated in lectures about mycology (the study of fungi - ie mushrooms)!!!
Delta9Haze420 Reviewed by Delta9Haze420 on . Myth about tap roots... OK for awhile now I have seen time and again people say "PUT THE TAP ROOT DOWN!!!!" when advising people on how to put a germinated seed to soil. I am curious why so many people seem to think this is such a big issue? I studied botony heavily as an undergraduate, and during a lab one day I specifically remember the PhD remarking that it makes no difference which way the tap root faces; it will grow down even if initially facing up (there was a lecture about gravitropism). The shoot will Rating: 5