https://www.gardenology.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Cold_hardening 2026-04-10T07:07:11Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.43.0 https://www.gardenology.org/w/index.php?title=Cold_hardening&diff=12988&oldid=prev 2007-12-18T19:45:53Z

<p></p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>&#039;&#039;&#039;Cold hardening&#039;&#039;&#039; is the [[physiological]] and [[biochemical]] process by which an [[organism]] prepares for cold [[weather]].<br /> <br /> ==Plants==<br /> [[Image:Plant cell structure svg.svg|thumb|200px|Schematic of typical plant cell]]<br /> During the [[winter]] months, as the leaves fall off [[deciduous]] species and the [[temperature]] drops, the cold forces a stop to [[water]] movement in [[plant]]s. Freezing water can also cause irreversible damage to [[Cell (biology)|cell]]s in plants water solidifies. To guard against this, plants prepare for winter with a process called cold hardening. The process begins as the [[cell membrane]] permeability undergoes a change that permits water to seep into the intracellular voids. In addition, the cells store large amounts of sugars in the [[protoplasm]], decreasing its freezing point.<br /> <br /> Cold hardening protects plants from both chilling injury and freezing injury. Chilling injury occurs at 0-10 degrees Celsius, as a result of membrane damage, metabolic changes, and toxic buildup. Symptoms include wilting, water soaking, [[necrosis|necrosis]], [[chlorosis|chlorosis]], ion leakage, and decreased growth. Freezing injury occurs at temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius. Symptoms of extracellular freezing include structural damage, dehydration, and necrosis. If intracellular freezing occurs, it will lead to death. Freezing injury is a result of lost permeability, plasmolysis, and post-thaw cell bursting.</div>

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