There are four primary factors that affect plant growth: light, water, temperature and nutrients.

These
four elements affect the plant's growth hormones, making the plant grow more quickly or more slowly.
Changing any of the four can cause the plant stress which stunts or changes growth, or improves
growth. It's important to learn as much as you can about each of the four factors and your own plant or
garden's unique needs to maximize plant growth factors for a lush, healthy garden.

Light
Plants evolved over eons in very different locations around the world. They may have developed in
tropical locations under the canopies of great rain forest trees or on the slopes of a harsh mountain
range in China. Because of this, plants are adapted to different types of light, and some cannot adapt
easily to new conditions. You must understand the type of light your plants require and provide it for
them.Light also varies in intensity from season to season. During the winter months, the days are
shorter and the light less intense. As the spring equinox approaches, the amount of light available to
plants and the intensity increases. Light and temperature changes in the spring stimulate plants to break
their dormancy and grow new leaves.

Sunlight during the summer encourages flowering and fruiting, which in turn creates the beautiful
display of flowers or delicious vegetables from the garden. Later, as the light changes in the fall, many
plants react by shedding their leaves.

Water
Plants need water to survive. People are made up of approximately 70 percent water, but plants are
closer to 90 percent water, and without water, plants become stressed and die. Even the desert cactus
requires water, albeit much less water than other plants.

Water nourishes the plant and hydrates it. Water in the soil breaks down and dissolves minerals and
critical elements in the soil. As the plant absorbs water through its roots, it also transport nutrients into
its cells.

Water and humidity in the air can encourage plant growth, but too much water can kill plants. It's
important to provide your plants with the right amount of water for their needs.

Temperature
Plants react to temperature by speeding up or slowing down all of their life processes. Warmth
encourages germination and growth. Warmer temperatures actually trigger chemical reactions inside
the plant's cells, which speed up transpiration, respiration, and photosynthesis. Plants grow more
quickly during warm periods and slow down or even become dormant during cool or colder periods.

Nutrients
Plants require certain basic nutrients for growth and maintenance. There are 17 nutrients which plants
need to survive. Three of these nutrients are taken from the air and from water: hydrogen, oxygen and
carbon. They must be able to find the remaining 14 nutrients in the soil. If any one nutrient is lacking, it
can slow plant growth or cause stunted growth.

Soil nutrients are divided into two categories, macronutrients and micronutrients. Plants need more of
the macronutrients than micronutrients. Macronutrients include nitrogen, potassium, calcium,
magnesium, sulfur and phosphorus. Micronutrients include iron, copper, and many other elements.
ater stress – Why and how? Plants experience water stress either when the water supply to their roots
becomes limiting or when the transpiration rate becomes intense. Water stress is primarily caused by
the water deficit, i.e. drought or high soil salinity. In case of high soil salinity and also in other conditions
like flooding and low soil temperature, water exists in soil solution but plants cannot uptake it – a
situation commonly known as ‘physiological drought’. Drought occurs in many parts of the world every
year, frequently experienced in the field grown plants under arid and semi-arid climates. Regions with
adequate but non-uniform precipitation also experience water limiting environments. Since the dawn of
agriculture, mild to severe drought has been one of the major production-limiting factors. Consequently,
the ability of plants to withstand such stress is of immense economic importance. The general effects of
drought on plant growth are fairly well known. However, the primary effect of water deficit at the
biochemical and molecular levels are not considerably understood yet and such understanding is crucial.
All plants have tolerance to water stress, but the extent varies from species to species. Knowledge of the
biochemical and molecular responses to drought is essential for a holistic perception of plant resistance
mechanisms to water limited conditions in higher plants. 3. Effects of water stress on plants Drought, as
an abiotic stress, is multidimensional in nature, and it affects plants at various levels of their
organization. In fact, under prolonged drought, many plants will dehydrate and die. Water stress in
plants reduces the plant-cell’s water potential and turgor, which elevate the solutes’ concentrations in
the cytosol and extracellular matrices. As a result, cell enlargement decreases leading to growth
inhibition and reproductive failure. This is followed by accumulation of abscisic acid (ABA) and
compatible osmolytes like proline, which cause wilting. At this stage, overproduction of reactive oxygen
species (ROS) and formation of radical scavenging compounds such as ascorbate and glutathione further
aggravate the adverse influence. Drought not only affects plant water relations through the reduction of
water content, turgor and total water, it also affects stomatal closure, limits gaseous exchange, reduces
transpiration and arrests carbon assimilation (photosynthesis) rates. Negative effects on mineral
nutrition (uptake and transport of nutrients) and metabolism leads to a decrease in the leaf area and
alteration in assimilate partitioning among the organs. Alteration in plant cell wall elasticity and
disruption of homeostasis and ion distribution in the cell has also been reported. Synthesis of new
protein and mRNAs associated with the drought response is another outcome of water stress on plants.
Under the water stress cell expansion slows down or ceases, and plant growth is retarded. However,
water stress influences cell enlargement more than cell division. Plant growth under drought is
influenced by altered photosynthesis, respiration, translocation, ion uptake, carbohydrates, nutrient
metabolism, and hormones. 3.1 Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is particularly sensitive to the effects of
water deficiency. Plants’ resistance to water deficiency yields metabolic changes along with functional
and structural rearrangements of photosynthesizing apparatus. Photosynt