Internal Water Deficit

Internal Water Deficit:-

1. Internal Water deficit:- It is defined as being when plant water status is reduced sufficiently to affect normal plant functioning.

2. Causes of Water deficit:-

i. A combination of limited water absorption and high evaporative demand.

ii. Generally, plant water deficits may be considered as being induced by either insufficient available soil water or a high atmospheric evaporative demand.

3. Physiological implications of water deficit:-

i. Water deficit has an adverse effect on plant growth. Therefore, drought stress is the most severe environmental stress for plant growth and crop production.

ii. Water deficit reduces photosynthesis by closing stomata, decreasing the efficiency of the carbon fixation process, suppressing leaf formation and expansion, and inducing the shedding of leaves.

iii. Response of leaves to water stress is by inward curling or exhibiting a wilted appearance as a result of an absence of turgor in leaves.

iv. A notable response to the deficit of water is stomata closing themselves to scale back water loss by transpiration.

v. However, it increases the leaves’ internal temperature leading to heat stress.

vi. Closure of stomata decreases greenhouse emission diffusion, finally reducing the expansion of the plant.