Injury in plants

Abiotic factors that can damage plants include heat, freezing, flooding, lightning, ozone gas, and pollutant chemicals.

[1] Caterpillar larvae of agricultural pests such as cabbage white butterflies (Pieridae) can completely defoliate Brassica crops.

[2] Molluscs such as snails graze on plants including grasses and forbs, abrading them with their rasp-like radula; they can inflict substantial damage to crops.

[4] Abiotic factors that can damage plants include heat, freezing, flooding, lightning strikes, ozone gas, and pollutant chemicals.

[8] Ozone, a gas, causes injury to leaves at concentrations from as little as 0.1 part per million in the atmosphere, such as may be found in or near large cities.

For example, the grape vine Vitis vinifera is able to block the xylem water-transport tubes in its stems using the chemical tylose in summertime, and gels in wintertime when the plant is dormant.

In time, such regrowth often completely covers the damaged area as the cambium growth layer produces new tissues.