Development of higher plants under altered gravitational conditions.

Publisher Summary A scientific basis for the study of the influence of earth's gravity on plants has been provided by the experiments on plant gravitropism carried out by T. Knight in the 19th century. Later developments in this field have given a new understanding of the role of gravity in the processes of spatial orientation and of the possible effect of this ecological factor on growth, morphogenesis, and reproduction of plants. Gravitational physiology has many facets, including the reaction of plants to changes in the direction of the gravity vector and in the magnitude of the gravitational force. Information about these effects was initially obtained from terrestrial experiments utilizing gravitropic stimulation, inversion, clinostat, and centrifuge studies. However, it is technically difficult to verify how plants can grow and develop at low gravity (less than 1 G). With the advent of artificial earth satellites and space laboratories, this novel branch of gravitational physiology has received a new impulse for development. With the help of experiments carried out in space, it is possible to obtain answers to the questions of gravitational physiology and to verify the conclusions drawn from experiments performed under terrestrial conditions.

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