Stress - Responses of Plants to Stress
Let us recall what happens within the natural communities occupying the same habitat. The relative location of two plants may place them under differing conditions with respect to a given environmental factor such as light. The top cover of a rainforest, for example, consists of relatively tall trees and receives maximal irradiance while the floor dwellers manage with sunflecks.
What will happen if we artificially shadow the outer cover plants and illuminate the forest floor? Being a deviation from the natural situation, this is likely to have adverse effects on growth of these plants. Likewise, any deviation from optimal environmental conditions usually with adverse effects on plant growth can be considered as stress. This in turn affects the yield of useful agricultural products.