Plant Growth and Development - Notes _ Class 11 _ Part 1_ Growth
Plant Growth and Development - Notes _ Class 11 _ Part 1_ Growth
GROWTH
Growth is an irreversible permanent increase in size of an organ or its parts or an individual cell.
Plant growth continues throughout the life due to the presence of meristems.
The growth where new cells are always added to the plant body by the meristem is called open
form of growth.
Primary growth:
• Cell number: E.g. A maize root apical meristem can produce more than 17,500 new cells per
hour.
• Cell size: E.g. Cells in a watermelon can increase in size by up to 3,50,000 times.
Phases of Growth
• Meristematic phase: It occurs in the meristems at the root apex & the shoot apex. Here,
cells have rich protoplasm and large nuclei. Cell walls are primary, thin & cellulosic with
abundant plasmodesmata.
• Elongation phase: It occurs in cells proximal (just next, away from the tip) to the
meristematic zone. The cells have increased vacuolation, size and new cell wall deposition.
• Maturation phase: It occurs in the cells further away from the apex, i.e., more proximal to the
phase of elongation. The cells attain maximal size in terms of wall thickening and
protoplasmic modifications.
Growth Rates
Arithmetic growth:
In this, following mitotic division, only one daughter cell continues to divide while the other
differentiates & matures.
On plotting the length of the organ against time, a linear curve is obtained.
Mathematically, it is expressed as Lt = L0 + rt
Geometrical growth:
In most systems, the initial growth is slow (lag phase), then it increases rapidly (log or
exponential phase).
If nutrient supply is limited, the growth slows down leading to a stationary phase.
On plotting the parameter of growth against time, we get a typical sigmoid (S) curve.
• t = time of growth
Here, r is relative growth rate. It is also the measure of ability of plant to produce new plant
material (efficiency index). Hence, final size W1 depends on initial size, W0.
1. Absolute growth rate: Measurement & comparison of total growth per unit time.
2. Relative growth rate: Measurement of growth of the given system per unit time expressed
on a common basis, e.g., per unit initial parameter.
Diagrammatic comparison of absolute & relative growth rates
1. Water: Essential for cell enlargement. Turgidity of cells helps in extension growth. Water
provides medium for enzymatic activities needed for growth.
3. Nutrients: Macro & micro elements are needed for the synthesis of protoplasm and act as
source of energy.
4. Temperature: At optimum temperature, growth is maximum. Deviation from this may harm
the plants.
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