Plants adapt themselves to drought conditions by various physiological, biochemical,
anatomical, and morphological changes, including transitions in gene expression. The
physiology of plants’ response to drought at the whole plant level is highly complex and
involves deleterious and/or adaptive changes. This complexity is due to some factors such
as plant species and variety, the dynamics, duration and intensity of soil water depletion,
changes in water demand from the atmosphere, environmental conditions, as well as plant
growth and the phenological state in which water deficit is developed.
Plants’ strategies to cope with drought normally involve a mixture of stress avoidance and
tolerance strategies. Early responses of plants to drought stress usually help the plant to
survive for some time. The acclimation of the plant to drought is indicated by the
accumulation of certain new metabolites associated with the structural capabilities to
improve plant functioning under drought stress. The main aspects of plant responses to
water involve the maintenance of homeostasis (ionic balance and osmotic adjustment