Study Guides/Biology/The Movement of Food in Phloem
Study Guide · Biology

The Movement of Food in Phloem is Called...

In Class 10 Biology (Life Processes - Transportation in Plants), students learn that plants have a complex 'plumbing system' made of two types of pipes: Xylem and Phloem. Water goes up the xylem, but what happens to the food?

Question (Click to Flip)

What is Transpiration?

Answer

Do not confuse Translocation with Transpiration! Translocation is the movement of food. Transpiration is the loss of excess water vapour through the stomata on the leaves.

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Key Facts

If you peel off a ring of bark from around the trunk of a tree (a process called 'girdling'), the tree will eventually die. This is because the phloem is located just under the bark; removing it permanently stops the roots from receiving any food!

The Answer: Translocation

The movement of synthesized food (mainly sucrose) from the leaves to the other parts of the plant through the Phloem is called Translocation.

How does Translocation work?

Unlike the transport of water in the xylem (which happens passively through suction), translocation in the phloem is an active process.

  1. Food (sugar) made in the leaves during photosynthesis is actively pumped into the phloem tissue using energy from ATP.
  2. This creates a high concentration of sugar, pulling water into the phloem from the nearby xylem via osmosis.
  3. This high pressure forces the sugary sap to flow through the phloem to areas of the plant that have low pressure (like growing roots, fruits, and seeds) where the food is needed.

Xylem vs Phloem Movement

  • Xylem (Water): Movement is strictly unidirectional (only goes UP from roots to leaves).
  • Phloem (Food): Movement is bidirectional (can go UP to growing buds or DOWN to the roots depending on where the plant needs energy).

Questions and Answers

What is Transpiration?+

Do not confuse Translocation with Transpiration! **Translocation** is the movement of food. **Transpiration** is the loss of excess water vapour through the stomata on the leaves.

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