Question

Leaves of a healthy potted plant were coated with vaseline to block the stomata will this plant remain healthy for longer state three reason for your answer

Answer 1

Answer:

No the plant will not remain healthy for long...

Explanation:

Covering the leaves with Vaseline will close the stomatal opening present on leaf epidermis. Stomata helps in gaseous exchange and water evaporation or loss from leaf surface . Hence two major process of plant survival will be affected, which are :

(i) Transpiration ( loss of water from leaf surface ):

It is a necessary evil. It helps in maintaining the leaf surface temperature by causing cooling effect through evaporation and also creates a transpirational pull i.e it causes roots to absorb water and this helps in absorbing nutrient and also flow of water through xylem( helps in circulation of nutrients for various metabolic process) upto stomata in leaves.

So applying Vaseline will stop this process which will stop upward intake of water ( also absorption of nutrients along with it) and also will increase the leaf surface temperature in day time causing death of leaf tissues.

(ii) Photosynthesis / Respiration:

Plant uptakes CO2 in daytime to produce it own food . By closing stomata it will not perform Photosynthesis anymore and hence will die out of starvation.

Plant uptakes Oxygen in night-time for Respiration i.e breakdown of its food reserves for energy. This process will also stop causing the plant to die.

This was the theoretical aspect of applying Vaseline, in real life experiment it will reduce water loss from upper surface to moderate and from lower surface to minimum ( more stomata is present on lower surface). Gradually the plant will seize its metabolic activity resulting in plant death.