Abscisic acid or ABA is a hormone that decelerates and helps stop cell’s division and lengthening. In extreme environment condition, abscisic acid helps plants to stay alive through shoots or buds dormancy. This is why abscission is common for certain trees like rubber, teak, mahogany, and acacia.
In winter and fall, the concentration of abscisic acid in buds and axillary branches increases thus stimulates leaf abscission.
Furthermore, if your plant loses water, then there would be accumulation of abscisic acid inside the cells that controls stomata that causes the stomata to close thus decreases evaporation.
Abscisic acid in the seeds of several varieties of desert plants is easily unravelled thus when rain comes; seeds can easily germinate or sprout.
In conclusion, roles and advantages of abscisic acid in plants are:
- Causing seeds and buds dormancy
- Causing leaf abscission
- Prevents plant growth and development
- Causing death on cells, tissues, and organs on certain plants.