By: Muhammad Umer
Plants are major and one of the most important living species of planet earth. Like humans, plants also have many characters and traits. These characteristics are built in and are known as genetics or heredity, but in nature these are being massively influenced by the environment. The most important aspect of explanation is how these two major components interact with each other in giving the phenotype to the plant.
We can understand the phenomena by taking an example of two moving objects having the same built in; speed, size, shape, weight, and other aspects. This all is known as its genetics or heredity. When we move these objects without the environmental influence they both will end up being at the same point in the same time. But, when the one moving object is subjected to move in an environmentally influenced situation with an external pressure opposing it, then this will end up being in short as compared to the one moving in a normal condition.
The air pressure is a representative of the environmental effect on that heredity, which is the basic potential of moving objects. Similarly, plants have some basic heredity which is subjected to environmental support. If the environment is according to the needs of the plant then the plant will proceed according to its maximum potential, but in case the environment opposes the basic heredity the plant will not proceed to its maximum potential.
If we consider the growth character of plants. We came to know that the growth of plants is highly affected by the high and low temperature. We have seen the impact of temperature on plants, which shows that if temperature is above optimum it will slow down the process of photosynthesis, and the proper food formation and its accumulation will not occur in the plant which eventually leads to stunted growth because of lack of energy source. Similarly, at cold temperature the growth is also affected and at 0° Celsius the plant dies off.
Thus, in a nutshell we can say that the genetics of plants have been greatly influenced by the environment.