I PU Biology 2024

CHAPTER - PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Phases and rate of plant growth; Condition of growth; Differentiation, dedifferentiation and
redifferentiation; Sequence of developmental process in a plant cell; Growth regulators – auxins,
gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene and ABA; Photoperiodism and vernalisation

Growth is defined as a permanent, irreversible increase in size, volume or dry weight of an organism.
In plants, growth does not take place throughout the length of the body but is confined to the regions where
meristems are present.
Plant Growth is Indeterminate

Plant growth is unique because plants retain the capacity for unlimited growth throughout their lifetime. The
apical meristems at the root tips and shoot tips, the intercalary meristems at the base of the internodes and
the lateral meristems along the lateral sides of the body cause plant growth.
The cells of the apical and intercalary meristems divide by mitosis and new cells are added to the plant body
causing linear elongation of plant parts along their axis. This type of growth is called primary growth.

Note: This form of growth wherein new cells are always being added to the plant body by the activity of
meristems is also called open form of growth.
In gymnosperms and dicots, lateral meristems like vascular cambium and cork cambium appear later in life
and cause increase in the girth of the organs where they are produced. This type of growth is called
secondary growth.

Measurement of Growth
Growth is measured by different parameters like increase in fresh weight, dry weight, volume, length
(growth of pollen tube), surface area (growth in a dorsiventral leaf), cell size (cells in watermelon increase
in nsize by upto 3,50,000 times per hour) and cell number (one single maize root apical meristem can give
rise to more than 17,500 new cells per hour).

Regions of growth - Regions of root (zones of a root) - A root shows the following regions.

• Region of cell Division - It is present at the extreme tip of the root. Here the cells are actively dividing
by mitosis and the cells are meristematic. This zone is covered by a protective root cap.
• Region of cell Elongation - Beyond the region of cell division the cells elongate and increase in size.
They have stopped division this region is called region of cell elongation.
• Region of cell maturation - Just beyond the region of cell elongation (Base of the root) the cells have
attained maturity and perfection. This region is called region of cell maturation.
• In between the region of cell elongation and region of cell maturation there are numerous root hairs
and this constitutes the region of root hairs, the chief water absorbing zone of the root.

Phases of growth – The period of growth is generally divided into three phases namely meristematic,
elongation and maturation as observed in the root tips.

• Meristematic phase – It is represented by the constantly dividing cells at the root apex. Cells in this
phase are characterised by rich protoplasm, large conspicuous nucleus and thin, cellulosic cell walls with
abundant plasmodesmatal connections.
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• Phase of elongation – Just above the meristematic phase lies the phase of elongation. Here, the cells are
characterised by increased vacuolation, cell enlargement and new cell wall deposition.
• Phase of Maturation – Above the phase of elongation, lies the portion of the root axis which is
undergoing the phase of maturation. The cells in this zone attain their maximal size in terms of wall
thickening and protoplasmic modifications.

Growth Rate – It is the increased growth per unit time. It can be expressed mathematically.
Growth rate shows an increase that may be arithmetic or geometric.
Arithmetic Growth

• In arithmetic growth, following mitotic cell division, only one daughter cell continues to divide while
the other differentiates and matures. Eg., root elongating at a constant rate.
• When the length of the root is plotted against time, a linear curve is obtained.
• Mathematically, it is expressed as

Lt = L0 + rt

Lt = length at time ‘t’

L0 = length at time zero
r = growth rate / elongation per unit time
Geometric Growth

• Initially the growth is slow and this period

is regarded as lag phase.
• Later the growth increases rapidly at an exponential rate. This period is regarded
as log or exponential phase. Here following mitotic division, both the daughter cells
retain the ability to divide and this continues at each mitotic division.
• When there is limited nutrient supply, the growth slows down and reaches a stationary
phase.
If geometric growth is plotted against time, we get a typical sigmoid curve or S – shaped curve. Such a
growth curve is characteristic to living organisms growing in a natural environment. It is typical to all cells,
tissues and organs of a plant.
Exponential growth is expressed as
W = W0 e rt
W1 = final size (weight, height, number etc.,)
W0 = initial size in the beginning of the period

r = growth rate
t = time
e = base of natural of natural logarithms

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Here ‘r’ is the relative growth rate and is also the measure of the ability of the plant to produce new plant
material, referred to as efficiency index. Hence the final size of W1 depends on the initial size W0.
Note
Absolute Growth Rate – Measurement and comparison of total growth of two organs or organisms per unit
time is called absolute growth rate.

Relative Growth Rate – The growth of the given system per unit time expressed on a common basis eg.,
per unit initial parameter is called the relative growth rate.
In the above diagram, X and Y are leaves of two different sizes but show absolute increase in area in the
given time to give leaves X’ and Y’.
In both absolute growth is the same.

The leaf X of 6cm2 grows 6cm2 per unit time. The relative growth is 100%.
The leaf Y of 60cm2 also grows 6cm2 per unit time. Here the relative growth is 10%.
The relative growth rate of leaf Y is more compared to that of X.
Conditions for Growth – Plants depend on the following necessary elements for growth.
▪ Water
o Plant cells require water to grow in size by cell enlargement. They need water to maintain turgidity,
which helps in extension growth.
o Water provides a medium for enzymatic activities required for growth.
▪ Oxygen
o It helps in releasing metabolic energy required for growth.
▪ Nutrients
o Macro and micro nutrients are required for synthesis of protoplasm and act as source of energy.
▪ Optimum temperature range
o Every plant has an optimum temperature range best suited for its growth. Any deviation from this
range would affect the growth.
▪ Light and gravity – They affect certain stages or phases of growth in plants.

Differentiation, De - differentiation and Re - differentiation

Differentiation – It involves gradual structural changes in the plant cells which are in the state of cell
division at the zone of cell division (root apical meristem and shoot apical meristem). The cells lose their
capacity to divide and undergo maturation to produce permanent tissues like epidermis, cortex, vascular
bundles, pith etc.,
Dedifferentiation - Some of the cells which have lost the capacity to divide undergo certain structural
changes and regain the capacity to divide. This process is called dedifferentiation. Eg., parenchyma and
collenchyma give rise to interfascicular cambium and cork cambium by undergoing dedifferentiation.

Redifferentiation – The dedifferentiated cells once again lose the capacity to divide and undergo maturation
to perform specific functions. This process is called re differentiation.

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Development – It includes all changes that an organism undergoes during its life cycle from germination of
seed to senescence. It is the sum of growth and differentiation.
The different changes can be represented diagrammatically in the figure (NCERT text).
Plasticity
Plants have the ability of undergoing different pathways in response to different environmental conditions or
different phases of life and form different kinds of structures. This ability is called plasticity.
Example: Heterophylly (production of different types of leaves by the same plant), seen in cotton, coriander,
larkspur and buttercup.
In cotton, coriander and larkspur, the leaves of juvenile plant are different in shape from those in mature
plant.

In buttercup, terrestrial forms produce leaves of different shape as compared to those growing in aquatic
habitat.
Plant Growth Hormones or Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) – They are the chemicals synthesised in
one part of the plant body and carried to other parts where they are effective in very minute concentrations
and play important physiological role in growth.

The discovery of plant growth hormones started with the observation of Charles Darwin and his son Francis
Darwin on the coleoptiles of the canary grass. They observed that the coleoptiles responded to unilateral
illumination by growing towards light source. After a series of experiments it was concluded that the tip of
the coleoptile was the site of transmittable influence that caused the bending of the entire coleoptile.
Later F.W. Went isolated plant growth hormones called auxins from the tip of the coleoptile which are
responsible for the bending. The first auxin discovered was Indole – 3 – Acetic acid (IAA).
Classification of the plant growth regulators
The plant growth regulators are classified into two categories namely growth promoters and growth
retarders. The growth promoters include auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins. They promote growth in plants.
The growth retarders include abscissic acid (ABA) and ethylene. They cause retardation of growth in plants.

❖ Growth Promoters

• Auxins - The term auxin was coined by F W Went. They are produced by the tips of roots and stems.
They migrate to the regions of action. Eg., Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) are naturally occurring auxins.
Indole Butyric Acid (IBA) and Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) are synthetic auxins. They are
extensively used in horticulture and agriculture.

➢ Physiological effects of auxins on plants

▪ They help in cell division and differentiation.

▪ They initiate roots in stem cuttings, hence useful in vegetative propagation of plants.
▪ They promote flowering in pine apples.
▪ They prevent abscission (falling) of young leaves and immature fruits.
▪ They cause apical dominance. It is a phenomenon of the growing apical bud inhibiting the growth of
lateral buds.
▪ They induce parthenocarpy, a phenomenon of production of fruits without fertilization. Such fruits
are seedless.Eg., tomatoes, papaya etc.,
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▪ Some auxins like 2,4 – dichlorophenoxy acetic acid are widely used as herbicides, they selectively
kill weeds which are mostly dicots in agricultural fields where monocot crops are grown.
• Gibberellins or Gibberellic Acid (GA) - They are a type of plant growth promoters, weakly acidic in
nature, which bring about intermodal elongation, seed germination, bolting of rosette plants etc., There
are about 100 types of GAs named as GA1, GA2, GA3, etc., of which GA3 is the most common one. It is
the first gibberellin to be discovered and is the best studied one. It was discovered by Japanese scientists
Kurosawa, Yabuta and Sumuki while studying foolish seedling disease or bakane disease of rice plants.
Seedlings with disease grow very tall due to rapid intermodal elongation but do not produce grains.
Bakane disease is caused by a fungus Gibberella fujikuroi, which is known to produce gibberellins.
Hence the name ‘gibberellins’ is given to this hormone. Yabuta coined the term gibberellins.

➢ Physiological effects of gibberellins on plants

▪ They cause increase in length of plant axis as seen in grape plants.

▪ It causes internode elongation in sugarcane plants and hence increases the yield.
▪ It causes delay of senescence (aging) and thereby helps to leave fruits for a longer period in plants so
as to extend the market period.
▪ In plants like beetroot and cabbage where the internodes are very short and produce rosette leaves,
gibberellins cause intermodal elongation and this process is called bolting.
▪ It induces early seed production in conifers. It causes germination of seeds by breaking dormancy of
seeds.
▪ It induces flowering in long day plants.
▪ It induces development of fruits without fertilization – a process called parthenocarpy. Eg., apple,
pear etc.,
▪ They replace the requirement of chilling temperatures by plants to produce flowers.

• Cytokinins - They are the plant growth promoters which induce cell division in plants. They were
discovered by Miller and Skoog from the internodal segments of tobacco stems. In these stems, the
callus (mass of undifferentiated cells) proliferated only if the internodes were provided with yeast
extract, coconut milk or extracts of vascular tissues in addition to auxins. Miller and Skoog later
identified the substance promoting active cell division in these stems as kinetins. (a substance causing
kinesis or cell division). They are naturally produced by apices of roots and stems, developing shoot
buds and fruits.

➢ Physiological effects of cytokinins on plants

▪ They induce cell division and cause morphogenesis. Hence they are used in tissue culture.
▪ They are involved in differentiation of chloroplasts from proplastids, lignifications of trachieds,
development of interfascicular cambium etc.,
▪ They initiate growth of lateral buds even in presence of apical bud.
▪ They cause delay of senescence, a phenomenon called Richmond and Lang effect.
▪ They break dormancy of seeds and promote germination.

❖ Growth Retarders

• Abscissic acid (ABA) - It is the first growth retarder to be identified. It was discovered by F T Addicott
in potato tubers. It is also known as stress hormone as more of it is produced under the condition of
stress. Its other names are dormin and abscisin.

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➢ Physiological effects of ABA in plants

▪ It acts as a general plant growth inhibitor and inhibitor of plant metabolism.

▪ It inhibits seed germination. It induces dormancy in seeds, buds and storage organs.
▪ It causes closure of stomata and increases the tolerance of plants to various kinds of stresses. It acts
as a natural anti transpirant, as it prevents transpiration by bringing about stomatal closure.
▪ It stimulates synthesis of ethylene.

• Ethylene - It is a gaseous plant growth hormone (growth retarder). Cousins confirmed the release of a
volatile substance from ripe oranges that hasten the ripening of stored unripe bananas. It is synthesised
by tissues undergoing senescence and ripening fruits.

➢ Physiological effects of ethylene in plants

▪ It induces horizontal growth of seedlings, swelling of the axis etc.,

▪ It promotes senescence and abscission of plant organs like leaves and fruits.
▪ It breaks seed and bud dormancy and induces their germination. Eg., seen in pea nut seeds, potato
tubers.
▪ It initiates flowering and synchronized fruit – set in pine apples.
▪ It causes ripening of fruits. It enhances the rate of respiration during respiration. The rise in the rate
of respiration is called respiratory climactic.
Note –The most widely used compound which is a source of ethylene is ethephon. When ethephon is added
to water, it dissolves in water. In an aqueous solution it is readily absorbed and transported within the plant
and releases ethylene slowly. Ethephon hastens ripening of fruits like tomatoes, apples etc., It promotes
production of female flowers in cucumber plants and thereby increases the yield.

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