Tropic Movements In Plants

Tropic Movements in Plants are also known as Plant Tropisms. It is a unidirectional movement of the plants that happens due to the response to different stimuli. This movement can occur in the same direction, or it is also possible to take place in the opposite direction of a particular stimulus. Plant movements take place when they need light, water, essential nutrients, etc. to live. In this article, we are going to discuss the Tropic Movements in Plants, types of tropic movements, processes, examples, and advantages.

Tropic Movements in Plants

Tropic Movement is a specific process where a plant moves in one direction of the stimulus. A particular plant can either display a negative movement or a positive movement in response to that specific stimulus. The positive tropic movement happens when the movement is towards the direction of stimuli. On the other hand, a negative tropic movement happens when the movement happens in the opposite direction from the stimuli.

Tropic Movements Types

Tropic movements, also known as Tropisms, is a unidirectional movement of plants. It happens in response to different environmental stimuli.

Plant Tropisms

There are six major types of tropic movements in plants as mentioned below:

Phototropism

The phototropism happens under the rection of light. In phototropism, plants grow towards light or grow away to the opposite direction of the light. In general, the plant stems are usually positive for phototropism. On the other hand, the plant roots show negative phototropism which grows against the light in the soil. The leaves also respond positively toward the light source.

• Phototropism is a tropic movement in plants. In simple words, it is the growth of a plant in response to an external stimulus.
• It involves plants orienting their growth towards or away from a sunlight source.
• The plant hormones, like auxins, help in the growth of the light source.
• Phototropism helps the leaves to grow in the sunlight. It helps to increase their ability to produce energy through photosynthesis.

Gravitropism

Gravitropism is a tropic movement in plants that responds to gravity by growing towards it. The shoots are gravitropism negative and roots are the gravitropism positive. Gravitropism is also known as the geotropism. The leaves are generally geotropic as they select their positions at right angles. Leaves stay intact with the steams at the center of gravity.

• Gravitropism is generally involved with the growth or movement of plant parts majorly roots and stems.
• This type of tropic movement helps the plants to orient themselves properly in the soil.
• This particular tropic movement optimizes the growth of roots and stems. It also ensures that roots penetrate the soil and shoots will grow towards sunlight.

Chemotropism

Chemotropism is a tropic movement in plants that is majorly caused by specific chemical compounds. This tropic movement results in the curvature movement in different plant organs.

• Chemotropism helps the plants locate the nutrients, water, or other necessary substances to grow and survive.
• During fertilization, this process is really helpful as it helps in the movement of pollen tubes towards ovules.

Thigmotropism

Thigmotropism is a tropic movement in plants where the plants grow or develop in reaction to contact with a solid object. It is also known as haptotropism.

• Thigmotropism generally involves in the directional growth of the roots, stems, or tendrils.
• This tropic movement helps a plant to adapt new environment.
• In this movement, plats generally find support to grow by wrapping or climbing on them.

Thermotropism

Thermotropism is a type of tropic movement where a plant or a plant portion reacts to changes in the ambient temperature.

• Thermotropism is the tropic movement of plants in which they respond to the temperature and heat resources.
• This tropic movement generally depends on the species of a plant and on the conditions where the plant grows.
• Thermotropism helps plants to regulate the functions like photosynthesis, seed germination, and overall growth and development of a plant.

Hydrotropism

Hydrotropic is a tropic movement that helps a plant’s movement or growth in response to water stimulus or water sources. In this tropic movement, roots migrate and grow towards the water. Through this process, plants display a positive response to being hydrotropic.

• Hydrotropism allows the plants to locate and access water resources.
• The water resources generally lead this movement through specialized cells present in a root tip.
• Hydrotropism helps the plants to adapt the soil moisture levels to increase the resilience to the drought conditions.

Process of Tropic Movements In Plants

• Tropic Movements In Plants are directional stimuli reactions. It is a three step process as mentioned below. Stimulus Sensation: It is the e first step of the tropic movement of a plant. When the living being reacts to the stimuli, it can benefit the plants. Signal
• Transduction : Signal transduction is a process where the signal elements of the environment transmit through the plant cell through the signal transduction pathways.
• Directional Growth: It is the final step of the tropic movements in plants. It is the directional growth response that occurs in response to the touch of an object.

Tropic Movements in Plants Examples

Here we have mentioned some examples of the plants, based on their tropic movements. Let us discuss.

Example – Tropic Movements In Plants
Tropic Movement	Example Plants
Thigmotropism	Passionflowers
	Ivy
	Pea plants
	Climbing roses
	Grapevines
Phototropism	Sunflowers
	Corn plants
	Morning glory
	Geraniums
	Marigolds
Geotropism	Bean plants
	Carrot plants
	Pine trees
	Dandelions
	Bamboo
Thermotropism	Venus flytrap
	Mimosa pudica
	Agave plants
	Wheat
	Arabidopsis thaliana
Chemotropism	Fungi
	Bacteria
	Orchids
	Mosses
	Algae
Hydrotropism	Bean plants
	Wheat
	Rice
	Mustard plants
	Oak trees

Advantages – Tropic Movements In Plants

Here are the major advantages of Tropic Movements In Plants as mentioned below.

• Tropic movements in plants enable them to capture sunlight for photosynthesis in an efficient manner.
• These particular movements help the plants to navigate the water sources in different environmental conditions.
• It involves plants orienting their growth towards or away from a sunlight source.
• Tropic movement helps the plants to orient themselves properly in the soil.
• Tropic movement optimizes the growth of roots and stems.
• During fertilization, tropic movement is really helpful in the movement of pollen tubes towards ovules.
• The tropic movement helps plants to regulate the functions like photosynthesis, seed germination, and overall growth and development of a plant.

Difference Between Tropic Movement And Nastic Movement

In the table mentioned below, we have discussed the major differences between the tropic movement and nastic movement of a plant.

Difference Between Tropic Movement And Nastic Movement
Aspect	Tropic Movement	Nastic Movement
Definition	Directed growth response towards a particular stimulus.	Non-directional response to stimuli.
Direction of Movement	Typically towards or away from the stimulus	Not necessarily towards or away from the stimulus
Response Process	Growth or curvature of plant organs in response to external stimuli.	Changes in turgor pressure or cell expansion causing movement.
Timing of Response	Generally slower response.	Can be rapid.
Control Mechanism	Controlled by hormones and external stimuli.	Influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, light, or touch.
Adaptation	Facilitates directional growth and orientation of plants for survival and resource.	Involved in rapid responses to environmental changes for protection or reproductive purposes.

Conclusion – Tropic Movements In Plants

In conclusion, the tropic movements in plants play a major role in their ability to respond and adapt to any new environment. These tropic movements, also called tropism, includes phototropism, gravitropism, and hydrotropism, allow plants to grow towards light. They help to move the plants towards gravity and look for the water resources to sustain their lives.

FAQs – Tropic Movements In Plants

What is Tropic movements in Plants Class 10?

Tropic movements in plants is a directional growth in response to a stimuli. These responses involve differential cell elongation (growth) on opposite sides of the plant organ, leading to a turning towards or away from the stimulus.

What are Examples of Tropic Movement?

Some examples of tropic movement includes growth of stem towards light (phototropism) and movement of root towards the ground (geotropism).

What is Difference Between Tropic and Nastic Movement?

Nastic movements are different from tropic movements because the direction of tropic responses depends on the direction of the stimulus. The direction of nastic movements is independent in maturity and not dependent on stimulus position.

Why are Tropic Movements called Directional Movements?

Tropic Movement is a specific process where a plant moves in one particular direction of the stimulus. A particular plant can either display a negative movement or a positive movement in response to that specific stimulus.

What is the Thigmotropism Movement in Plants?

Thigmotropism is when a plant will respond to touch from an external source. Thigmotropism generally involves in the directional growth of the roots, stems, or tendrils.

What are the 4 Tropic Movements in Plants?

Tropic movements can occur either in the direction of the stimuli or opposite the direction of the stimuli. Phototropism, geotropism, hydrotropism, chemotropism, and thigmotropism are the common tropic movements exhibited by plants.

How many Tropic Movements are There in Plants?

There are total six movements in plants. Phototropism, Gravitropism, Chemotropism, Thigmotropism, Thermotropism, and Hydrotropism are the several types of phototropism.

What is the Importance of Tropic Movement in Plants?

They serve as a protective function. They help in developing sudden response during a change. Help in growth and development by facilitating the movement of a plant towards sunlight.

What are the Types of Movement in Plants?

There are two types of movement in plants including Tropic Movement and Nastic Movement. Nastic Movement is a non-directional response to stimuli where Tropic Movement is a directed growth response towards a particular stimulus.

How is Tropic Movement Controlled?

Tropic movement in plants is controlled by the hormone Auxin. Auxins are a type of plant hormone that play a crucial role in coordinating many growth and behavioral processes in the plant’s life cycle.

What is Tropic Movement also Called?

Tropic movement is also known as tropism. It’s a directional movement of a plant part in response to environmental stimuli.

What are the Different Types of Tropic Movements in Plants?

Phototropism, geotropism, hydrotropism, chemotropism, thermotropism, and thigmotropism are the different types of tropic movement in plants.

What is Nastic Movements in Plants?

Nastic movements in plants are non-directional responses to stimuli such as touch or light, causing parts of the plant to change position irrespective to the direction of the source, such as the folding of leaves upon touch.