Chapter 06-

Plant Water
Relation
(5/7 marks)

Mrs. Vinita. M. Prabhu

•Plant obtain variety of substances like water, minerals,
nutrients, food and gases like O2 from their
surroundings
•Productivity in plants is mainly affected by the non-
availability of water
•Water is considered as ‘ Elixir of life’
•Water constitutes almost 90 to 95% of most plant cells
and tissues
•Water helps the cells to maintain turgidity and shape
Properties of water
•It is in the liquid form at room temperature and is best
solvent for most of the solutes
•It is inert inorganic compound with neutral pH when in
pure form. Due to this, water is best transporting
medium for dissolved minerals and food molecules
•It is best aqueous medium for all biochemical
reactions occurring in the cells
•It is an essential raw material for photosynthesis
•Water has high specific heat, high heat of vaporization
and high heat of fusion. Due to this it acts as thermal
buffer
•These various properties are due to hydrogen bonds
between the water molecules
•Water molecules have good adhesive and cohesive
forces of attraction
•Due to the high surface tension and high adhesive and
cohesive force, it can easily rise in the capillaries
•It is therefore, a significant molecule that connects
physical world with biological processes
Water absorbing organ
Root
•Root is the main organ of water and mineral
absorption
•In terrestrial plants, plants absorb water in the form of
liquid from the soil however, epiphytic plants like
orchids absorb water vapours from air with the help of
epiphytic roots having special tissue called velamen
•Typical root is divisible into four different regions
•In the zone of absorption, epidermal cells (epiblema
cells) from unicellular hair like extensions called root
hairs
Structure of root hair
•Root hair is cytoplasmic extension (prolongation) of
epiblema cell
•Each root hair may be approximately 1 to 10 mm long
and tube like structure
•It is colourless, unbranched, short lived (ephemeral)
and very delicate
•It has a large central vacuole surrounded by thin film
of cytoplasm, plasma membrane and thin cell wall,
which is two layered
•Outer layer is composed of pectin and inner layer is
made up of cellulose
•Cell wall is freely permeable but plasma membrane is
selectively permeable
Water available to roots for absorption
•Plants absorb water from the rhizosphere (the
microenvironment surrounding the root)
•Water present in the soil occurs as gravitational (free)
water, hygroscopic water, combined water and
capillary water
•Water percolates deep, due to gravity, in the soil, is
called ‘gravitational water’. This is not available to
plants for absorption
•Fine soil particles imbibe/absorb water and hold it.
This is called ‘hygroscopic water’. Roots cannot absorb
it
•Water present in the form of hydrated oxides of
silicon, aluminium etc is called ‘combined water’. It is
also not available to plants for absorption
•Some amount of water is held in pores present
between the neighbouring soil particles, due to
capillary. This is called capillary water that is available
for absorption
Absorption of water by roots from soil
Absorption of water in plants is effected by three
physiological processes, viz. imbibition, diffusion and
osmosis.
Imbibition
•The absorption of water by compounds that are
hydrophilic is called imbibition.
•During imbibition, water molecules are tightly
absorbed on the surface of hydrophilic compounds
without forming a solution
•Compounds such as cellulose and pectin materials in
root hair cell behave as hydrophilic compounds and as
such imbibe water.
Diffusion
The movement of ions, atoms or molecules of solutes,
liquids or gases from the region of their higher
concentration to the region of their lower concentration
till an equilibrium is established is called diffusion
•Diffusion pressure:- Diffusion pressure (D.P.)is the
potential ability of a solid, liquid or a gas to diffuse from
the region of its greater concentration to the region of
its lower concentration. The diffusion pressure of pure
solvent is always more.
•Facilitated diffusion:- The selective transport of large
molecules across the cell membrane is called facilitated
diffusion. It does not involve the expenditure of energy.
Facilitated diffusion is assisted by special proteins called
porins.
•Symport:- The transport of two types of molecules in
the same directions is called symport.
•Antiport:- The transport of two types of molecules in
opposite directions is called antiport
•Uniport:- In uniport transport a molecule moves
independent of the other
Osmosis
•The diffusion of water or solvent from a solution of
lower concentration to a solution of higher
concentration or from a pure solvent to a solution
through a semipermeable membrane is called osmosis.
•Osmosis is of two types, viz. Endomosis and Exosmosis
1. Endosmosis: The entry of water molecules when a
plant cell is placed in a solution having lower solute
concentration than that of cell sap (hypotonic
solution) is called endosmosis
2. Exosmosis: When a plant cell is placed having higher
solute concentration than that of the cell sap
(hypertonic solution), it results in the loss of water
molecules from the plant cell into the external
solution through the plasma membrane. This loss of
water through the plasma membrane is called
exosmosis. The cell becomes flaccid due to exosmosis
Plasmolysis
•A cell with shrunken protoplasm is called a plasmolysed
cell and the phenomenon is known as plasmolysis.
•When a cell is kept in a hypertonic solution, water
begins to pass out of the cell by osmosis (exosmosis)
resulting in shrinkage in the volume of the vacuole.
•Owing to further shrinking, the protoplasm begins to
round off and assumes the shape of a more or less mass
lying in the centre of the cell
Turgor pressure and well pressure
•The hydrostatic pressure that develops in a cell due to
endosmosis is known as turgor pressure (T.P.) or
pressure potential ( Ψp)
•The cell wall being rigid exerts equal and opposite
pressure on the cell sap
•This pressure is called wall pressure (W.P.)
•The wall pressure is equal to turgor pressure in a fully
turgid cell.
Diffusion pressure deficit (D.P.D)
•D.P.D ie diffusion pressure deficit of a solution is initially
equal to its osmotic pressure (O.P.)
•When water enters into a cell, the increasing turgor
pressure (T.P.) forces the cytoplasm against the cell wall
•The cell wall exerts an equal and opposite pressure
(W.P.)on the cell sap
•This can be represented as follows
• D.P.D = O.P. – T.P. (W.P.)
where D.P.D. is diffusion pressure deficit, O.P. is osmotic
pressure and T.P. is turgor pressure.