What is drought stress in plant?
Drought stress in plants is characterized by reduced leaf water potential and turgor pressure, stomatal closure, and decreased cell growth and enlargement (Farooq et al., 2009b).
What is drought stress and its effects?
Drought stress reduces leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation, disturbs plant water relations and reduces water-use efficiency. Plants display a variety of physiological and biochemical responses at cellular and whole-organism levels towards prevailing drought stress, thus making it a complex phenomenon.
How does drought stress affect plant photosynthesis?
Under drought stress conditions, many metabolic processes, including photosynthesis, are negatively affected. Such a decrease in photosynthesis leads to plants absorbing more light energy than can be consumed by photosynthetic carbon fixation.
How do plants respond to drought stress?
The immediate response of plants on being exposed to drought stress is stomatal closure. Reduction in transpiration under drought stress conditions can also be achieved through leaf shedding (i.e. deciduous species in drought) as well as decrease in leaf number, leaf size, and branching.
How do plants survive drought?
To survive in drought conditions, plants need to decrease transpiration to limit their water loss. Some plants that live in dry conditions have evolved to have smaller leaves and therefore fewer stomata. These extreme leaf adaptations can also protect the plants from hungry and thirsty birds and animals (Figure 1).
How can we prevent drought stress in plants?
Choose drought-tolerant plants and create a xeric garden with lower water needs. If you must have plants with high water needs, group them together, so you can water just that small area. Organic matter: Continually add compost and other organic matter to your soil, to improve its ability to retain moisture.
What are the causes of drought stress?
Global climate alterations are the main factor triggering drought stress worldwide [25, 30]. However, there are many other reasons for droughts, such as high temperature, high intensity of light, and dry wind, all of which increase evaporation of water from soil.
What is drought and its causes and effects?
A drought is caused by drier than normal conditions that can eventually lead to water supply problems. Really hot temperatures can make a drought worse by evaporating moisture from the soil. A drought is a prolonged period with less-than-average amounts of rain or snow in a particular region.
How do plants sense drought?
One of the alert systems that coordinates plants’ detection and response to drought is known as the chloroplast retrograde signaling network. When one part of a plant senses drought or excess light, this network dispatches enzymes to carry a message to the plant’s “mainframe,” which can activate a defense strategy.
How do droughts impact plant growth?
Without adequate water, biological processes, such as photosynthesis, are greatly reduced. Reduced photosynthesis means reduced plant growth, including root growth. Besides the direct effects of drought, a plant under stress becomes more susceptible to insect and disease problems that can attack a weakened plant.
What are three signs of water stress in plants?
The first signs of water stress in landscape plants and trees include wilted or drooping leaves that do not return to normal once temperatures cool at night, curled or yellow leaves that may fold or drop, leaves that change to a grayish or bluish green color, sunburned leaves and new leaves that are smaller than normal …
What are the characteristics of drought resistant plants?
Characteristics of “drought tolerance” Drought-tolerant plants have built-in features to minimize water loss and maximize water uptake. Plants may have reduced leaf areas and bear small leaves or needles in the case of evergreens.
How does drought stress affect the growth of plants?
Insights Into Drought Stress Signaling in Plants and the Molecular Genetic Basis of Cotton Drought Tolerance. Drought stress restricts plant growth and development by altering metabolic activity and biological functions. However, plants have evolved several cellular and molecular mechanisms to overcome drought stress.
How are nanoparticles used to treat drought stress?
Foliar supply of iron oxide nanoparticles decreases the harmful effects caused by drought stress and stimulates the yield parameters of plants (Zareii et al., 2014 ). Martínez-Fernández et al. (2015) observed that nanostructured maghemite considerably opposes drought stress symptoms in Helianthus annuus.
How is turgor maintained in plants during drought?
Turgor can also be maintained by cell wall hardening during the development of water deficit. While cell wall hardening helps to sustain turgor it impedes cell growth. This is only one of the many examples where the maintenance of plant water status under drought stress might partly be achieved at the cost of reduced growth.
How are plants adapted to survive in drought?
Plants display a range of mechanisms to withstand drought, such as reduced water loss by increased diffusive resistance, increased water uptake with prolific and deep root systems, and smaller and succulent leaves to reduce transpirational loss.