Book excerpt: Water Relations of Plants attempts to explain the importance of water through a description of the factors that control the plant water balance and how they affect the physiological processes that determine the quantity and quality of growth. Organized into 13 chapters, this book first discusses the functions and properties of water and the plant cell water relations. Subsequent chapters focus on measurement and control of soil water, as well as growth and functions of root. This book also looks into the water absorption, the ascent of sap, the transpiration, and the water stress and its effects on plant processes and growth. This book will be useful for students, teachers, and investigators in both basic and applied plant science, as well as for botanists, agronomists, foresters, horticulturists, soil scientists, and even laymen with an interest in plant water relations.