Если корень слабый, росток может засохнуть.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

корень слабый = the root is weak

Literally, Russian says something closer to root weak, but it is understood as a complete sentence. This is very normal in Russian.

Слабый is the masculine singular nominative form of the adjective weak.

It matches корень, which is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the agreement is:

• слабый корень = a weak root
• корень слабый = the root is weak

Even though the adjective comes after the noun here, it still agrees with it in gender, number, and case.

Yes, Если корень слаб, росток может засохнуть is also possible.

The difference is that:

• слабый is the long form adjective
• слаб is the short form adjective

In predicate position, both can occur, but they are not always identical in tone.

Here:

• слабый sounds neutral and natural in everyday Russian
• слаб sounds a bit more concise or literary

For a learner, слабый is the safer and more general form to recognize and use.

Both are in the nominative case because both are subjects of their own clauses.

• Если корень слабый = if the root is weak
  • корень is the subject of the subordinate clause
• росток может засохнуть = the sprout may dry up
  • росток is the subject of the main clause

So even though the sentence has two parts, each noun is acting as the subject in its own part.

Может is the 3rd person singular form of мочь, meaning can, may, or be able to.

Here it agrees with росток:

• росток может = the sprout can / may

In this sentence, может expresses possibility, so the sense is closer to may or can end up.

After мочь in Russian, you normally use an infinitive.

So:

• может засохнуть = may dry up / can wither

This is similar to English:

• can dry up
• may wither

The conjugated verb is может, and засохнуть stays in the infinitive.

This is a question of aspect.

• засохнуть is perfective
• засыхать is imperfective

Here, the sentence is talking about a possible result: the sprout may end up dried up or withered. Because the focus is on the outcome, the perfective засохнуть is natural.

Compare:

• росток может засохнуть = the sprout may dry up / may wither
• росток может засыхать = the sprout may be drying up / may tend to dry up

The second version sounds less natural in this context unless you specifically want to emphasize an ongoing or repeated process.

Засохнуть often means to dry up, to wither, or to dry out completely, especially for plants or living things.

So in this sentence it is not just about becoming dry in a neutral physical sense. It suggests that the sprout may fail, wither, or die from lack of strength or nourishment.

That is why засохнуть fits well with корень and росток.

Because Если корень слабый is a subordinate clause introduced by если.

Russian uses commas to separate subordinate clauses from main clauses:

• Если корень слабый, росток может засохнуть.

This is required punctuation in standard Russian.

English sometimes feels less strict to learners, but in Russian this comma is expected.

Yes. You could also say:

Росток может засохнуть, если корень слабый.

The meaning stays basically the same: If the root is weak, the sprout may dry up.

The difference is emphasis:

• Если корень слабый, росток может засохнуть puts the condition first
• Росток может засохнуть, если корень слабый puts the result first

Russian word order is more flexible than English, but the choice often affects focus and style.

Russian does not have articles.

So:

• корень can mean a root or the root
• росток can mean a sprout or the sprout

The exact meaning depends on context. English must choose, but Russian usually leaves this unstated unless something else makes it clear.