The removal of a ring of bark from trunk of a tree eventually kills it, since

Options

A. Mineral salts cannot go up
B. Water cannot go up
C. Food does not travel down and roots are starved
D. The exposed part becomes infected with fungi

Answer

C

Explanation

In woody stems, with a single ring of collateral vascular bundles the girdling results removal of phloem and since the phloem is supposed to translocate organic food material it cut the food supply to the roots. The roots cannot synthesise their own carbohydrates.