Plant Growth
Plant Growth
Characteristics of growth:
- Growth increases in protoplasm at cellular level.
- Stem and roots are indeterminate in growth due to continuous cell division and is called open form of growth. The primary growth of the plant is due to the activity of apical meristem where, new cells are added to root and shoot apex causing linear growth of plant body.
- The secondary vascular cambium and cork cambium add new cells to cause increase in girth.
- Leaves, flowers and fruits are limited in growth or of determinate or closed form growth.
- Monocarpic annual plants produce flowers only once during lifetime and dies. Example: Paddy and Bean
- Monocarpic perennials produce flowers only once during life time but the plants survive for many years. Example: Bamboo.
- Polycarpic perennials produce flowers every year during life time. Example: Coconut.
Indication of growth:
Growth in plants can be measured in terms of,
i. Increase in length or girth (roots and stems)
ii. Increase in fresh or dry weight
iii. Increase in area or volume (fruits and leaves)
iv. Increase in number of cells produced.
Phases of growth:
There are three phases of growth,
1. Formative phase
2. Elongation phase
3. Maturation phase
1. Formative phase:
Growth in this phase occurs in meristematic cells of shoot
and root tips. These cells are small in size, have dense protoplasm, large
nucleus and small vacuoles. Cells divide continuously by mitotic cell division.
Some cells retain capability of cell division while other cells enter the next
phase of growth.
2. Elongation Phase:
Newly formed daughter cells are pushed out of the meristematic
zone and increases the volume. It requires auxin and food supply, deposition of
new cell wall materials (intussusception),addition of protoplasm and
development of central vacuole take place.
3. Maturation Phase:
During this stage cells attain mature
form and size. Thickening and differentiation takes place. After
differentiation, the cells do not grow further.
Kinetics of growth:
It is an analysis of the motion of cells or expansion.
1. Stages in Growth rate:
The total period from initial to the final stage of growth
is called the grand period of growth. The total growth is plotted against time
and ‘S’ shaped sigmoid curve (Grand period curve) is obtained. It consists of
four phases.
They are:
i. Lag phase
ii. Log phase
iii. Decelerating phase
iv. Maturation phase
i. Lag phase
In this phase new cells are formed from pre-existing cells
slowly. It is found in the tip of the stem, root and branches. It is the
initial stage of growth.
ii. Log phase or exponential growth
Here, the newly formed cell increases in size rapidly by
deposition of cell wall material. Growth rate is maximum and reaches top
because of cell division and physiological processes are quite fast. The volume
of protoplasm also increases. It results in rapid growth and causes elongation
of internode in the stem.
iii. Decelerating phase or Decline phase or slow growth
phase
The rate of growth decreases and becomes limited owing to
internal and external or both the factors because the metabolic process becomes
slow.
iv. Steady state period or maturation phase
In this phase cell wall thickening due to new particle
deposition on the inner surface of the cell wall takes place. The overall
growth ceases and becomes constant. The growth rate becomes zero.
2. Types of growth rate
The increased growth per unit time is termed as growth rate.
An organism or part of an organism can produce more cells through arithmetic
growth or geometric growth or both.
i. Arithmetic Growth Rate:
If the length of a plant organ is plotted against time, it
shows a linear curve and this growth is called arithmetic growth.
The rate of growth is constant and it increases in an
arithmetic manner. Only one cell is allowed to divide between the two-resulting
progeny cell.
One continues to divide but the other undergoes cell cycle
arrest and begins to develop, differentiate and mature.
After each round of cell division, only a single cell remains
capable of division and one new body cell forms. For example, starting with a
single cell after round 1 of cell division there is one dividing cell and one
body cell. After round 2 there are two body cells, after round 3 there are
three and so on. The plants single dividing cell would undergo one million
rounds of nuclear and cellular division. If each round requires one day, this
type of arithmetic increase would require one million days or 2739.7 years. This
arithmetic rate is capable of producing small number of cells present in very
small parts of plants. For example; the hair on many leaves and stems consists
of just a single row of cells produced by the division of the basal cell, the
cell at the bottom of the hair next to other epidermal cells. Hair may contain
5 to 10 cells by the division of the basal cell. So, all its cells could be
produced in just five to ten days.
ii. Geometric growth rate:
This growth occurs in many higher plants and plant organs
and is measured in size or weight. In plant growth, geometric cell division
results if all cells of an organism or tissue are active mitotically.
iii. Arithmetic and Geometric Growth of Embryo:
Plants often grow by a combination of arithmetic and
geometric growth patterns. A young embryonic plant grows geometrically and cell
division becomes restricted to certain cells at the tips of roots and shoots.
After this point, growth is of the slower arithmetic type, but some of the new
cells that are produced can develop into their mature condition and begin
carrying out specialized types of metabolism. Plants are thus a mixture of older,
mature cells and young, dividing cells
3.Conditions of growth:
Plant growth is influenced by a variety of external and
internal factors. A brief account of these factors is given below:
I. External Factors:
a. Water:
Water is essential for cell enlargement as well as growth in
the size of the cell. Turgidity of cells helps in growth extension. Water
provides the medium for enzymatic activities needed for growth.
b. Nutrition:
Nutrition plays an important role in the formation of
protoplasm. Macro and micro elements are very important as sources of energy.
For example, carbon and oxygen in carbon-di-oxide and hydrogen in water are
assimilated in photosynthesis.
c. Temperature:
Temperature plays a significant role in the growth of the
plant. Proper growth of a plant occurs at a about 28⁰C to 30⁰C temperature and above 45⁰C
will damage the protoplasm and hinders the growth.
d. Oxygen:
Oxygen has a vital role in the growth of the plant. It helps
in releasing metabolic energy essential for growth activities. It is necessary
for respiration.
e. Light:
Light has its own contribution in the growth of the plant.
Light is important for growth and photosynthesis. Light stimulates healthy
growth. Absence of light may lead to yellowish in colour. This is called
etiolation.
II. Internal Factors:
a. Genes are intracellular factors for growth.
b. Phytohormones are intracellular factors for growth.
Example: auxin, gibberellin, cytokinin.
c. C/N ratio.
The ratio of carbohydrates and nitrogenous compounds
regulate the specific pattern of growth in plants. For example, if a plant contains
more nitrogenous compounds as compared to carbohydrates it produces more
protoplasm less mechanical tissues and vigorous vegetative growth. On the other
hand, less nitrogenous compounds and more carbohydrates favour the synthesis of
more wall material, less protoplasm, and more mechanical tissues.
4. Measurement of growth:
5. Sequence of developmental process:
in a plant cell Development is a term that includes all the
changes that an organism goes through during life cyle from germination of a
seed to senescence. Diagrammatic representation of the sequence of processes which
constitute the development of a cell of a higher plant. It is also applicable
to tissues/organ.
1. Differentiation:
The process of maturation of meristematic cells to specific
types of cells performing specific functions is called differentiation.
2. Dedifferentiation:
The living differentiated cells which had lost capacity to
divide, regain the capacity to divide under certain conditions. Hence, dedifferentiation
is the regaining of the ability of cell division by the differentiated cells.
Example: Interfascicular cambium and Vascular cambium.
3. Redifferentiation:
Differentiated cells, after multiplication again lose the
ability to divide and mature to perform specific functions. This is called redifferentiation.
Example: Secondary xylem and Secondary phloem.
4. Plasticity:
Plants follow different pathways in response to environment or phases of life to form different kinds of structures. This ability is called plasticity. Example: Heterophylly in cotton and coriander. In such plants, the leaves of the juvenile plant are different in shape from those in mature plants. On the other hand, the difference in shapes of leaves produced in air and those produced in water in buttercup also represent the heterophyllous development due to the environment. This phenomenon of heterophylly is an example of plasticity.
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