Nutrient Deficiencies and Vegetative Growth

Vegetative growth consists of growth and development of the primary axis (cell division and cell expansion) as well as initiation and growth of lateral meristematic tissue. Cell division and expansion are discussed in the section on cell growth, differentiation in the section on organ growth, and coordination between tissues in the chapter on plant growth. This chapter focuses on more recent work, with particular emphasis on nitrogen and phosphorus deficiency; examples of other stresses are mainly used to illustrate comparisons and contrasts with these two readily remobilized elements. There are unequivocal examples of nutrient deficiencies such as calcium and boron which cause decreased growth as their primary effect. For salt-stressed plants there is similar evidence that the decreased growth is due to effects in the growing tissue rather than effects on photosynthesis. One of the more fascinating aspects of plant growth is that the shoot apical meristem gives rise to forms of such diversity and order.