Growth and Development in Plants

Contents: 1. Basic Concepts and Definitions. 2. Signalling Molecules and Growth Regulators. 3. Cell Division and Enlargement. 4. Morphogenesis. 5. Vegetative Growth and Development. 6. Pre–Fertilization Reproductive Growth and Development. 7. Post–Fertilization Reproductive Growth and Development. 8. Growth Movements. 9. Rhythmic Phenomena and Growth Periodicity. 10. Alternate Strategies in Growth and Development. 11. Abnormal Growth and Development. References. Subject Index. Species Index.

Growth and development in plants has been a topic of interest to plant scientists for more than two centuries. Botanists have focused their interest on this topic exclusively from a morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular perspective and have generated an enormous volume of data and information. Books have been published in the past exclusively from each of the above perspectives, without integrating the information obtained from these diverse disciplines. Hence biased and incomplete accounts on growth and development of plants have resulted in the past. This bias has been avoided and an integrated account is provided in this book connecting morphology with molecular biology, ecology with epigenetics, physiology with pattern formation, growth regulators with genetics and metabolism with morphogenesis. The topic of the book is covered at the cellular, tissue, organ and organism levels and inputs from all these hierarchical levels of plant organization have been carefully integrated to get a holistic picture of growth and development in plants. The book will be useful to undergraduate, post-graduate and research students, and teachers of botany/plant sciences, plant biotechnology, agriculture and forestry.