| Plant Physiology |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT PLANT PHYSIOLOGY | |
| plant physiology | |
| branches of botanyplant physiology | |
| branches of botany | |
| physiology | |
| botany | |
| plants | |
| branches of botany | |
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In Botany , plant physiology is the study of the function, or Physiology , of Plant s. Fundamental processes such as Photosynthesis , Respiration , Plant Nutrition , Plant Hormone functions, Tropism s, Nastic Movements , Photoperiodism , Photomorphogenesis , Circadian Rhythms , environmental stress physiology, seed Germination , Dormancy and Stomata function and Transpiration , both part of plant water relations, are studied by plant physiologists. It is closely related to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology . One of the leading journals in the field is '''', ''Annals of Botany'', ''Journal of Plant Nutrition'' and '' Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences .'' EARLY HISTORY Sir Francis Bacon published one of the first plant physiology experiments in 1627 in the book, ''Sylva Sylvarum.'' Bacon grew several terrestrial plants, including a rose, in water and concluded that soil was only needed to keep the plant upright. Jan Baptist Van Helmont published what is considered the first quantitative experiment in plant physiology in 1648. He grew a willow tree for five years in a pot containing 200 pounds of oven-dry soil. The soil lost just two ounces of dry weight and van Helmont concluded that plants get all their weight from water, not soil. In 1699, John Woodward published experiments on growth of Spearmint in different sources of water. He found that plants grew much better in water with soil added than in distilled water. Stephen Hales is considered the Father of Plant Physiology for the many experiments in the 1727 book, Julius Von Sachs unified the pieces of plant physiology and put them together as a discipline. His ''Lehrbuch der Botanik'' was the bible of its time. Hydroponics is crop production with mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil containing silt and clay. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel or rockwool. A variety of techniques exist. Researchers discovered in the 1800s that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant ro artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics, but some will do better than others. It is also very easy to do; the activity is often undertaken by very young children with such plants as watercress. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching and a popular hobby. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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