Current Agriculture: Essential plant growth factors

The essential plant growth factors are those factors which affects the proper growth of plant. Plant growth is the increase in the size of a plant. The increase maybe in dry weight or in dimension and arises as a consequence of the formation of new cells, due to the expansion of the constituent cells and the production of assimilates.

Maximum growth in plant is that which is attained by a plant when none of the growth factors is present in less than the amount required by the plant or a relative yield of hundred percent. This statement vividly explains the principle of limiting growth factors which states that the growth of plant can be no greater than, allowed by the most limiting of the essential plant growth factor.

The growth factors are complex set of conditions which must remain within the tolerance states that for growth and survival, each organism requires a complex set of conditions. These growth factors can be classified as genetic and environmental factors.

The essential plant growth factors include;