Factors Affecting Plant Growth
Plants play a significant role in our life. There are around three lakh identified plant species and this list is still increasing. Plants help us by providing air to breathe, food to eat, fabrics to cover our body, timbers shelter, medicines and many products for human use.
Plants are the only source which provides us with oxygen to breathe. The world’s largest tropical rainforest, also called the Amazon rainforest is known for its largest producer of oxygen in the world. Our planet has more than 50 edible plants species and around 30 to 40 thousand plant species used in pharmaceutical industries for producing medicines. Along with these, plants also preserve our environment by balancing oxygen and carbon level in the atmosphere, play an essential role in soil erosion, contributes to global warming, and a lot more.
Altogether, more than 60 to 65 per cent of the entire plants’ population are in danger and are going extinct as they are not being safeguarded or affected by various external factors.
Major Factors Affecting Plant Growth
Plants growth can be influenced by several factors, which include both internal and external factors.
External factors affecting plant growth include:
● Water.
● Moisture.
● Nutrition.
● Humidity.
● Temperature.
● The pH of soil.
● Sunlight intensity.
Internal factors affecting plant growth include:
- Enzymes
- Plant hormones
Let’s explore more in detail about these factors.
Temperature
Increase or decrease in growth of a plant is associated with the temperature. Therefore, a suitable temperature is required for a plant to survive, to grow, to reproduce and to develop various tissues and organs.
Light
The intensity, duration and the quality of light influence many physiological processes happening in plants. Sunlight is the primary source of light energy for all autotrophs.
Water
Water is an essential factor for the plant’s growth. All plants need a sufficient amount of water to synthesize their food from the process of photosynthesis and to complete their daily metabolic activities.
Soil
Plants mainly depend on the soil for their nutrients. The composition of soil plays a vital role in the plant’s growth and development as it is composed of water, minerals and other essential components. Similar to humans, plants do require an adequate amount of nutrients for proper growth.
Plant Growth Regulators
There are various plant growth regulators such as auxin, cytokinin, gibberellins, ethylene and abscisic acid. These plant hormones play a vital role both internally and externally by:
- Delaying senescence
- Promotes cell division
- Regulation of plant’s growth
- Stimulating ripening of the fruit
- Inhibits sprouting and germination.
- Promoting the mobilization of nutrients
With the advancement of science and technology, several techniques are developed for the improvement of crop yield and development of healthy plants. Thus, it is an excellent step towards the protection of plants from extinction.
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