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Plant Growth and Development^

The document provides definitions and explanations of key concepts related to plant growth and development, including growth, differentiation, and various growth rates. It discusses the complexity of measuring growth in flowering plants and outlines the characteristics of different growth patterns. Additionally, it covers natural plant growth regulators, their discovery, functions, applications, and the role of abscisic acid as a stress hormone.

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Dashmeet Kaur
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14 views

Plant Growth and Development^

The document provides definitions and explanations of key concepts related to plant growth and development, including growth, differentiation, and various growth rates. It discusses the complexity of measuring growth in flowering plants and outlines the characteristics of different growth patterns. Additionally, it covers natural plant growth regulators, their discovery, functions, applications, and the role of abscisic acid as a stress hormone.

Uploaded by

Dashmeet Kaur
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Plant Growth and Development.

Q1: Define growth, differentiation, development, dedifferentiation,


redifferentiation, determinate growth, meristem and growth rate.

Answer

• Growth is an irreversible permanent increase in size of an organ or its parts


or even of an individual cell.

• Differentiation is the process in which the cells derived from root apical and
shoot-apical meristems and cambium differentiate and mature to perform
specific functions.

• Development is a term that includes all changes that an organism goes


through during its life cycle from germination of the seed to senescence.

.Redifferentiation is the process in which de-differentiated cells become


mature again and lose their capacity to divide.

• Determinate growth is the type of growth in which growth stops after a


certain phase.

• Meristem are the specialised regions in the plants where active cell divisions
take place.

.The increased growth per unit time is termed as growth rate.

Q2. Why is not any one parameter good enough to demonstrate growth
throughout the life of a flowering plant?

Answer:Growth, at a cellular level, is principally a consequence of increase in


the amount of protoplasm. Measuring the growth of protoplasm involves many
parameters such as the weight of the fresh tissue sample, the weight of the dry
tissue sample, the differences in length, area, volume, and cell number
measured during the growth period. Hence, there cannot be one parameter
good enough to demonstrate growth throughout the life of a flowering plant.
Q3:Describe briefly:

(a) Arithmetic growth

(b) Geometric growth

(c) Sigmoid growth curve

(d) Absolute and relative growth rates

Answer:

(a) In arithmetic growth, following mitotic cell division, only one


daughter cell continues to divide while the other differentiates and
matures. The elongation of roots at a constant rate is an example of
arithmetic growth. On plotting length of the organ against time, a
linear curve is obtained. Mathematically, it is expressed as:

Lt = L0 + rt

Here, Lt is length at time ‘t’, L0 is length at time 0 and r is the rate per unit
time.

(b) In most systems, the initial growth is slow and called lag phase, and
it increases rapidly thereafter at an exponential rate and called log or
exponential phase. Here, both the progeny cells following mitotic cell
division retain the ability to divide and continue to do so. However,
with limited nutrient supply, the growth slows down leading to a
stationary phase. The graph of the geometric growth gives a sigmoid
curve.

(c) A sigmoid curve is a characteristic of living organism growing in a


natural environment. This curve is divided into three phases – lag
phase, log phase or exponential phase of rapid growth, and
stationary phase.
Exponential growth can be expressed as:

(d) The measurement and the comparison of total growth per unit
time is called the absolute growth rate.The growth of the
given system per unit time expressed on a common basis,
e.g., per unit initial parameter is called the relative growth
rate.
Q4. List five main groups of natural plant growth regulators. Write a
note on discovery, physiological functions and
agricultural/horticultural applications of any one of them.
Answer

The five main groups of natural plant growth regulators are:


(i) Auxins
(ii) Gibberellic acid
(iii) Cytokinins
(iv) Ethylene
(v) Abscisic acid
A note on discovery, physiological functions and
agricultural/horticultural applications of Auxins are:
Discovery: The first observations regarding the effects of auxins were made
by Charles Darwin and Francis Darwin when they observed that the
coleoptiles of canary grass responded to unilateral illumination by growing
towards the light source (phototropism).
After a series of experiments, it was concluded that the tip of coleoptile was
the site of transmittable influence that caused the bending of the entire
coleoptile. Auxin was isolated by F.W. Went from tips of coleoptiles of oat
seedlings.

Physiological Functions:
• They control plant cell-growth.
• They cause the phenomenon of apical dominance.
• They control division in the vascular cambium and xylem differentiation.
• They induce parthenocarpy and prevent abscission of leaves and fruits.

Horticulture Application:
• They help to initiate rooting in stem cuttings, an application widely used for
plant propagation.
• 2-4 D is used weedicide to kill broadleaf, dicotyledonous weeds.
• They induce parthenocarpy in tomatoes.
• It promote flowering e.g. in pineapples.

Q5: Why is Abscisic acid also known as stress hormone?


Answer: Abscisic acid stimulates the closure of stomata in the
epidermis and increases the tolerance of plants to various kinds of
stresses. Therefore, it is also called the stress hormone. It promotes
seed dormancy and ensures seed germination during favourable
conditions. It helps seeds withstand desiccation. It also helps in
inducing dormancy in plants at the end of the growing season and
promotes abscission of leaves, fruits, and flowers.
Q6: Both growth and differentiation in higher plants are open’.
Comment.
Answer: The higher plants retain the capacity for unlimited growth
throughout their life. This ability of the plants is due to the presence
of meristems at certain locations in their body. The cells of such
meristems have the capacity to divide and self-perpetuate. Therefore,
growth in higher plants are open. Also, some of these cells always
undergo differentiation after some rounds of cell division. Hence, the
differentiation is also open.
Q7: Both a short day plant and a long day plant can flower
simultaneously in a given place’. Explain.
Answer: Flowering in some plants depends on relative durations of
light and dark periods. The short-day plant and long-day plant can
flower at the same place, provided they have been given an adequate
photoperiod.
Q8: Which one of the plant growth regulators would you use if you
are asked to:
(a) Induce rooting in a twig : Auxins
(b) Quickly ripen a fruit: Ethylene
(c) Delay leaf senescence: Cytokinins
(d)Induce growth in axillary bud :Cytokinins
(e) ‘Bolt’ a rosette plant:Gibberellins
(f) Induce immediate stomatal closure in leaves: Abscisic acid.
Q10: What would be expected to happen if:
(a) GA3 is applied to rice seedlings
(b) Dividing cells stop differentiating
(c) A rotten fruit gets mixed with unripe fruits
(d) You forget to add cytokinin to the culture medium.

Answer:
(a) If GA3 is applied to rice seedlings, then the rice
seedlings will show internode-elongation and increase
in height.
(b) If dividing cells stop differentiating, then the plant
organs such as leaves and stem will not be formed. The mass
of undifferentiated cell is called callus.
(c) If a rotten fruit gets mixed with unripe fruits, then the
ethylene produced from the rotten fruits will hasten the ripening of
the unripe fruits.
(d) If you forget to add cytokinin to the culture medium, then cell
division, growth, and differentiation will be slower.

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