What term describes physical, chemical, or biological factors that have a negative impact on plant health?

• A. Stress Factors
• B. Symptom
• C. Photosynthesis
• D. Producer

Answer: (A)

When plants face unfavorable conditions, their normal growth and functioning are disrupted. Those disruptions come from physical, chemical, or biological factors and are collectively called stress factors. They’re the things that push a plant away from its healthy state, whether it’s drought or extreme heat (physical), salty soil or nutrient imbalances (chemical), or pests and diseases (biological). Stress factors interfere with key processes like water uptake, nutrient transport, and photosynthesis, causing reduced growth, wilting, chlorosis, or necrosis.

A symptom is what you observe as a result of these stresses—visible signs such as yellowing leaves or stunted growth. The term described here refers to the cause of those problems, not the signs you see. Photosynthesis is the process plants use to convert light into energy, and a producer is an organism that makes its own food, like a plant; neither describes the causal factors affecting plant health.