FACTORS AFFECTING JUVENILITY AND

GROWTH OF A VEGETATIVE PLANT

Presented by:
Gladys C. Caspe
Lloyd M. Lapoot
Lyza M. Quilong Quilong
Life Cycle of a Flowering
Plant
Embryogenesis
and Seed
Maturation

Juvenile
Gametophytic
Phase Vegetative
Phase

Adult Adult
Reproductive Vegetative
Phase Phase
The Vegetative Phase

Begins with seed germination or

breaking of the leaf buds and ends with
the initiation of flower development

Divided into two:

JUVENILE and ADULT Vegetative phase

Involves the development and increase

in roots, stem or leaf tissues
Juvenile Growth Phase

Characterized by most rapid rate of

growth that a plant will undergo.

A Juvenile plant is incapable of

flowering
Juvenility in Plants

Juvenile phase may

vary from one to
two months in
ANNUAL plants, to
many years to
WOODY
PERRENIALS

Taiz and Zeigler, 2002 pg 568

 Juvenility in Plants
Juvenile plant exhibit different morphological features or physiological
features than a mature plant of the same species.

Plant Juvenile Mature

Pears With thorns Without thorns
Hedera Leaves are clearly Leaves are smooth
lobed

Stems are trailing Stem freely grow

and need support upright

Philodendron Smooth leaves Lobed leaves

Growth Phase of a Cucumber
Juvenility in Plants

The ability to influence the length of time a

plant is in the vegetative phase is important in
some circumstances.

Plant propagators want to maintain

juvenility in order to vegetatively
propagate cuttings

Flower and fruit growers want to reduce

juvenile phase. Earlier flowering and
fruiting reduces production costs and
allows for an earlier return of Investments
Factors affecting juvenility
and growth of vegetative
plants
Light

Temperature

Water

Climate

Nutrition

Plant Growth Hormones

Abiotic Factors

Temperature
-- It is an important factor in controlling the different
chemical reactions that the plant undergoes.
-- Each plant has different favorable temperature
requirement to sustain its growth and development-
optimum temperature range
Temperature requirements for
some vegetable crops
-- Soil temperature influences growth and development of
roots. In woody plants growing in temperate regions, root
growth occurs at around 3 to 7 C while plants in warmer
areas like Citrus will only grow on soil with more than 10 C.

-- Temperature extremes usually affect the growth of

vegetable crops. At 0 C , plants suffer from frost while at
40 C, plants die from so much heat.
 Chilling injury

-- it is the discoloration of some areas of leaves due to

altered metabolism which is caused by prolonged exposure
of crops in low temperature.

-- Crops which usually requires high temperature are

susceptible in this type of damage. (lower than 10-12 C
but higher than freezing point)
Heat Stress
-- Exposure of crops in very high temperature causing
injury.

-- Prolonged high temperature will induce chlorosis or

scalding in developing leaves .

-- Heat injury can be caused by either starvation, toxicity

or protein structure destruction.

-- When temperature is above 30 C , stomates remain

closed which leads to starvation.
-- When there is very high temperature, anaerobic respiration
can be the result of abnormal respiration thus, making a toxic
environment for the crop.

-- Denaturation of proteins occur when there is very high

temperature. It can result to chlorophyll deficiency since
enzyme for its synthesis is already degraded.

--Heat stress can cause the cell membranes of plants to

become porous thus, releasing its cellular contents.
Abiotic Factors

Water
-- Plants are composed of around 80-95% water making
it an essential determinant of mass and form of plants.
-- Water plays a key role in physiological processes of
plant like photosynthesis and respiration
 Water stress
1. waterlogging when there is more than enough water
available for plants

Effects on plant
-- Causes death of root hairs
-- reduces absorption of nutrients and water a.k.a.
physiological drought
--growth retardation of the plant
2. drought- insufficient water for plants
-- drought induces stomates to close thus, preventing
CO2 to enter the leaves

-- Most vegetable crops need water during its early stages

to sustain growth as compared with the tree and fruit
crops.
Weather and Climate
In a given location, the daily condition of the environment can
be described in terms of temperature, rainfall, light intensity
and duration, wind direction and velocity, and relative humidity.

Climate differs in the extent of changes with distance from the

ground surface into the atmosphere and the changes that occur
there as time passes.

Each crop has certain climatic requirements and unfavorable

climatic conditions produce a stress or strain on the metabolic
processes of the plant
Climatic Factors:
rainfall and water, light, temperature, relative
humidity, air, and wind.
Rainfall and water:

-water is an important climatic factor. It affects or

determines plant growth and development.

-Excess water within the plant can also cause injury;

leggy seedlings. Likewise, under similar conditions, growth cracks
occur as exemplified by bursting heads of cabbage and cracked fruits
of tomato and roots of carrot and sweet potato.

-Too much rainfall causes direct damage to shoots, high

incidence of pests and diseases and less activity of pollinators. It
also brings nutrients down to a level beyond the reach of roots
(leaching). Heavy rainfall also creates flooding or waterlogging in
the poorly drained soil.
Light:

-Light is that visible portion of the solar radiation or

electromagnetic spectrum. It is a form of kinetic energy that
comes from the sun in tiny particles called quanta or photons,
travelling in waves.
-Three properties of this climatic factor that affect plant
growth and development are light quality, light intensity, and
daylength or photoperiod. Light quality refers to the specific
wavelengths of light; light intensity is the degree of brightness
that a plant receives; and daylength is the duration of the day
with respect to the night period.
 LIGHT QUALITY
The violet-blue and red wavelengths are most effective in photosynthesis.

The blue, red, and far-red are active in photomorphogenesis, the regulation of
plant development by light. The pigments involved in light absorption are the
phytochrome, the carotenoids, and flavins. These are pigments that are responsible
for phototropism.
Vegetation absorbs red but transmits far-red light so that light under a canopy or
reflected from nearby stems has more of the far-red light or has a low red to far-
red (red/far-red) light ratio. It induces stem elongation, suppressed branching, and
early flowering of plants to outgrow competitors and to complete their life cycle
before they are deprived of sufficient light

when there is a predominance of ultraviolet wavelength, the plants will be

dwarfed. Low light intensity (predominance of the red wavelength) will cause the
plants to be long and thin (spindly).
LIGHT INTENSITY

Excessive light intensity should be avoided. It

can burn the leaves and reduce crop yields.
Chlorophyll content is reduced. This reduces the rate
of light absorption and the rate of photosynthesis;
Excess light intensity is associated with increase in the
temperature of leaves which in turn induces rapid
transpiration and water loss.
High leaf temperature inactivates the enzyme system
that changes sugars to starch. Sugars accumulate and
the rate of photosynthesis slows down.
LIGHT INTENSITY

Deficient light intensities tend to reduce plant growth,

development and yield. This is because low amount of
solar energy restricts the rate of photosynthesis. Below
a minimum intensity, the plant falls below the
compensation point. Photosynthesis significantly slows
down or ceases while respiration continues.

Etiolation, a morphological manifestation of the

adverse effect of inadequate light; it develops white,
spindly stems, elongated internodes, leaves that are
not fully expanded, and a stunted root system.
LIGHT DURATION

The cycles of daylength are so precise that

plants which respond to light have a built in
timing mechanism that measures the duration
of day or night. This, in turn, determines
when a plant is going to flower. The
phenomenon is photoperiodism. (short day
plant, long day plant& day neutral)
Relative Humidity:

-The relative humidity affects the opening and

closing of the stomata which regulates loss of water
from the plant through transpiration as well as
photosynthesis.
WIND:
-A slight wind is necessary to replenish CO2
near the plant surface.

-During rapid growth of plants, CO2 is rapidly depleted on

the leaf surface. When there is no wind, the rate of
resupplying the surface of the leaf is limited, so entry of CO2
is too slow to maintain rapid photosynthesis.

-Wind also carries 02 away from the plant. On the other

hand, when there is less wind, there is less evaporation and
less water requirement.
Nutrients

16 elements are considered to be essential for

growth of plants

Required by the plant to complete its life cycle

An element is
considered
essential if: Action of the element is specific and no other
element can substitute for it

Element must exert its effect directly on

growth or metabolism and not simply cause
another element to be more readily available
or antagonize a toxic effect of another element
Nutrients
Element ppm %
Hydrogen 60,000 6
Carbon 450,000 45
Oxygen 450,000 45
Nitrogen 15,000 1.5
Potassium 10,000 1.0 MACRO
Calcium 5,000 0.5
Magnesium 2,000 0.2
Phosphorus 2,000 0.2
Sulfur 1,000 0.1
Chlorine 100 0.01
Boron 20 0.002
Iron 100 0.01
MICRO
Manganese 50 0.005
Zinc 20 0.002
Copper 6 0.0006
Molybdenum 0.1 0.00001
Plant Hormones

Substances that are produced in one part of

the plant or organ and are translocated to
another part where they have pronounced
effect.

Effective in relatively small quantities and

provide regulation of most processes.

5 Major groups of hormones

Hormones