Plant Water Relations

Dr. K. Venkatesan
Professor (CRP)
 WATER

• All plant life requires water in large amount

• Present through out the plant body

• 80% is water & more than 90% in fresh weight

• Dormant seeds & buds – 10%

Occurs in 3 state

• Liquid • Colorless
• Gas • Odorless
• solid • Tasteless
Properties of water

Has high specific heat

Good conductor for heat / electricity
Stabilizes temperature
Solvent for electrolyte & non electrolyte
Transparent to visible radiation
Low viscosity
High surface tension
High latent heat of vaporization
(44 kJ mol-1) – temperature buffer
WATER AND HYDROGEN BONDS
1. Water consists of a single oxygen atom covalently
bonded to two hydrogen atoms

2. The oxygen atom is strongly electronegative so it

attracts electrons

3. The electrons attracted are closer to the oxygen

nucleus than the hydrogen nucleus so, the oxygen
atom carries a partial negative charge and the
hydrogen atoms carry a partial positive charge.

This arrangement makes water a dipolar molecule

4. The hydrogen bond is weaker than either a covalent
or ionic bond.

5. The hydrogen bond is responsible for the many

unique properties of water

a. Low melting temp.(0oC)

b. High boiling temp.(100oC)
c. High heat of vaporization (44 kJ mol-1)
 pH [H+]= 10-1M

pH = – log [H+]

The pH scale is an inverse

logarithmic representation of
hydrogen proton (H+) concentration

[H+]= 10-9 M
 Role of water in plants

Most abundantly used molecule

Herbaceous plants 80 – 90 %; woody plants 50 %
 Cell turgidity - Structural frame work
Cell enlargement & growth,
 Transpiration – Helps cooling leaf temperature
(energy
distribution through heat transfer)
 Helps gas exchange by stomatal opening
 Carrier for nutrients & metabolites
 Medium for biochemical reaction
 Solvent for nutrients & assimilates; gases,
minerals & other solutes
 Reactant in many biochemical reactions
 (photosynthesis & Hydrolysis)
 End product in respiration
 Water is the major constituent of protoplasm
Water in cells
Cell wall – imbibed water 5 – 40 %
Cytoplasm – mature cell – 5 – 10 %
Vacuole – 50 – 80 % or more
(Eucalyptus 50%; rhododendron 70%)
Osmotic potential (-1.0 to -3.0 M Pa i.e. –10 to –30 bars)

Bound water – low vapour pressure

unfrozen at 0° C
not function as solvent
unavailable for physiological processes
 Membranes are classified into 4 types
1. A membrane which allows both solvent and solute
molecule to pass through - permeable (cell wall).

2. Membranes which allow only solvent molecules to pass

through - Semi-permeable. (Egg membrane)

3. The biological membranes are not perfectly semi-

permeable. They also allow passing solute molecules only up to
a certain extent and are selective in nature. They are known, as
selectively or differentially permeable membranes. (Plasma
membrane)

4. Does not allow anything to pass through is impermeable

membrane (Cuticle)
• Put one tablespoon of
sugar into a glass of
water and stir.

• Solute = sugar

• Solvent = water
 Diffusion
movement of molecules or ions from a region of higher
concentration to a region of lower concentration
Move along a diffusion gradient due to their own kinetic
energy

Diffusion Multidirectional
Diffusion
 Osmosis
Diffusion of water through a differentially permeable
membrane from a region of higher potential to a region of
lower potential

Osmotic potential – pressure required to prevent osmosis

Turgor pressure – (pressure potential) develops against

the cell wall

Diffusion Pressure Deficit – (concentration of solvent

molecule diffuse towards the solution under pressure
 HYPOTONIC
If the concentration of water in the medium
surrounding a cell is greater than that of the cytosol, the
medium is said to be hypotonic. Water enters the cell by
osmosis.

ISOTONIC
When cells are placed in a solution, they neither gain
nor lose water by osmosis. Such a solution is said to be
isotonic.

HYPERTONIC
If cells are placed in higher concentration solution, they
lose water by osmosis and the cells shrivel up. Such a
solution is called hypertonic.
Osmotic effects on cells
 Endosmosis

living plant cell - hypotonic solution ( water)- O.P is

lower than cell sap- water enters into the cell sap by
osmosis- called endosmosis
Eg: Dry resins in water

Entry of water with the cell sap, a pressure is

developed which press the protoplasm against the cell
wall and become turgid. This pressure is called a turgor
pressure
Consequence of the turgor pressure is the wall
pressure which is exerted by the elastic cell wall against
the expanding protoplasm. At a given time, turgor
pressure (T.P) equals the wall pressure (W.P)

T.P = W.P
 Exosmosis

Plant cell is placed in hypertonic solution (whose O.P is

higher than cell sap- sugar solution) the water comes out the cell
sap into the outer solution - cell becomes flaccid - exosmosis

Eg: swollen grapes in 30 % sugar solution

Cell (or) tissue will remain as such in isotonic solution

 Significance of osmosis in plants

Absorption of water by roots from the soil

Cell to cell movement of water and other substances

Opening and closing of stomata depend upon the turgor pressure

turgidity of the cells -shape or form of them organs

Resistance of plants to drought and frost increases with increase

in osmotic pressure to later cells

Turgidity of the cells of the young seedling allows them to come

out of the soil
Water Potential

Chemical potential of water

Chemical potential of a substance is a measure of
the capacity of that substance to do work.

Water potential of pure water - 0 bars

" " sea water – 28 bars
at 25C (1 bar = 0.1 M Pa)
- 29 bars at 30C

1 MPa = 9.87 atm = 10 bars (1 atm = 1.013 bar & 1 bar = 0.987 atm)
 Components of cell water potential

 = s + p + g + m
 = - miRT bars (psi – pounds per squire inch)
m – isomolar concentration, i – ionisation
constant
T – absolute temperature (270 + room temp.)
R- gas constant (0.083)

 = -DPD (water potential is equal but opposite to the DPD)

 = s + p
Water potential () = Diffusion Pressure Deficit (DPD)
Imbibition – Absorption of water by hydrophilic colloids
- Entry of water into solids and resultant swelling

“Certain substances if placed in a particular liquid absorb it and

swell up”

Pieces of grass or dry wood or dry seeds or agar - placed in water -

swell up volume increased - substances- - imbibants- process-
imbibition

certain force - attraction - between -imbibants and the imbibed

substance
Plasmolysis – loss of cell water

protoplasm begins to shrinks or contract and

separate from the cell wall assures a spherical form
(Incipient plasmolysis )
continuous loss of water-complete protoplasam –
separate from cell wall-rounded in shape

De Plasmolysis –
plasmolysed cell placed in water, the process of
endosmosis -Water enters - turgid - protoplasm again
assumes it normal shape and position
Plasmolysis
 Plasmolysis

A B C
• Turgid = plant parts filled with water
• Wilted = lack of turgidity
Save Water for future