Episode 16 - Filling Out

Man, this is a stressful time of year. It's not only us crops who are feeling it - the Jones are feeling it too. "Don't worry Jason, I'll give you the latest update on how the crops are going after I've finished checking out the paddocks," Mr Jones said into the telephone. "The weather's been quite warm and all the crops have set seed, so at this stage it's looking good for your trip to Japan, but you know how things can change."

I guess he's read the headline in Downsanup Downs Underground News. I'm talking about that "Water Disappears Fast!" headline. It's certainly caused a buzz among the crops.

Freddy Faba's called a meeting to discuss the matter. "It's something we have faced for generations in our mediterranean climate, and we can all learn from each other how best to deal with it," he said. I'm certainly going to the meeting - we crops are not going to waste all that effort growing shoots, flowers and seeds, by not filling out our seeds properly at the end of the season - not if we can help it!

When I got to the meeting, Albert Annelid was at the front of the group showing his "Graph of Doom", as he likes to call it. "This graph, published exclusively in Downsanup Downs Underground News, clearly shows that you plants only have about a month's supply of water left in the soil. After that, you're all going to be very thirsty, unless it rains - and our weather reporter says that's not likely at this time of year. This could mean disaster for you all," Albert finished dramatically. Sounds like Albert's got the scoop he's been waiting for all season.

Chelsea jumped to her feet. "Now listen Albert," she scolded, "I'm not going to let my baby seeds down. They're going to grow plump in their pods, like they're meant to. There will be no disaster for us chickpeas! I mean, have you seen how deep our roots go? We can get to more of the soil water than you think. Besides, we have a special way of making and storing food for our seeds, even as the water runs out. You should look into it some time," she huffed.

The crops applauded. We all aim to avoid the disaster that Albert's forecast for us. Our meeting discussed the ins and outs of getting our seeds filled while the water held out - deep root systems, short life cycles and doing special tricks in our cells to make effective use of the water there is - the sorts of things that plant breeders have chosen us for. We all felt comforted as we discussed our ways of coping when the water disappears.

Perhaps Albert was a bit over the top with his forecast of disaster, but he wasn't completely wrong. Sometimes there's just not enough water left in the soil to fill out our seeds. Luckily that's not the case this year.

Hey, Albert's up to something - a crop yield tipping contest. "Who'll come out on top of the crop league ladder?" he calls. Now that's another story...