Agriculture

Totipotency, also called totipotentiality, refers to the ability of many cells to retain the full genetic potential characteristic of the mature organism from which any of the cells were obtained, and thus enable the cell to regenerate the organism’s tissues and organs under favorable conditions.

The possibility of regenerating an entire plant from a single or few non-zygotic cells was proposed by Gottleib Haberlandt (1854-1945) in 1902.

Haberlandt is now popularly called the Father of Tissue Culture.

This ability to regenerate the missing parts of a mature plant has already been known many times in the distant past.

This is the case when vegetative organs or parts, such as tubers, storage roots, and plant cuttings are used to propagate plants.

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Environmental factors are those non-genetic factors that contribute to the characteristics of a plant.

In other words, they are the components of all factors which influence plant growth and development to the exclusion of the genetic factors.

They have been referred to also as external factors to distinguish from the genetic factors which are described as internal.

With the right gene combination, a favorable environment can ensure full expression of crop yielding potential.

Conversely, unfavorable conditions can negate or diminish the full expression of genes.

Despite the use of the descriptive word environmental, however, these plant growth factors should not be interpreted as referring only to the external factors which humans easily perceive.

Although included, they do not refer only to sunlight, temperature, dry or moist air, and other elements of climate.

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In sum, the genetic factors affecting plant growth and development and crop productivity are all those which exclude the environmental factors.

They refer to the overall gene constitution of the plant or the smallest unit of this entirety which dictates the expression of specific traits.

They are also referred to as internal factors because they determine plant characteristics from within the plant, specifically from within the cell.

In other words, a plant displays a unique trait because there is this genetically dictated blueprint that makes such a trait inherent in the plant.

Without such a genetic blueprint, any manipulation of the external factors (called environmental) will fail in attempting to make the plant display such a trait.

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Plant growth factors or, to be complete, “plant growth and development factors” refer to everything that can affect the expression of plant characteristics.

Each factor is anything that controls or influences any aspect of growth and development and contributes to that overall expression.

These characteristics are apparent in those which are visible like, for example, the distinct characteristics of corn or maize compared to trees so that one can easily identify it and not mistake it for any tree.

The yields of two corn plants can also be compared first visually as small vs. big ear, and then by measuring the weights of ears and kernels.

So arises the question What makes this one corn yield high compared to the other?

This question to be answered comprehensively requires a dissecting of the plant growth factors affecting such characteristics.

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In agriculture, the term plant growth and development is often substituted with crop growth and yield.

This is so because plant agriculture is mainly concerned with crops and their economic products.

Indeed, a farmer may be concerned only with his corn crop and its grain yield.

He may not consider other plants except the weeds which can have adverse effects on productivity.

But the study of the science of crop production, or crop science, is not limited only to existing agricultural crops.

For one, plants that may not appear useful now can be found useful later.

For example, the discovery of the sugar beet as a commercial source of sugar is relatively recent compared to sugar cane.

Further,  the cellular, chemical, and biophysical changes occurring during plant development and their control similarly apply to most plants.

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