Changes in the explanation of plant stress concept

Abstract

The aim of this review to summarize the most important changes in the explanation of the plant stress concept during the past decades. This period is characterized by the long-standing duality in the interpretation of stress. According to Hans Selye and his followers, stress is the physiological state of the organism under influence of extreme environmental factors called stressors. The other explanation is based on Jacob Levitt's activity and the application of the stress concept of the physical sciences, accentuated that stress is any environmental factor potentially unfavourable to a living organism, while the status of the stressed organism is represented by a strain. The different interpretations of plant stress and its most important aspects, as adaptation, acclimation, tolerance, avoidance, stress syndrome, phenotypic plasticity and their connections are discussed in this study.