Turgor pressure, also known as hydrostatic pressure, is the pressure on the cell wall generated by the expansion of a plant cell due to the volume of water absorbed. Turgor pressure is of physiological importance to plant growth. Not only does it maintain cellular tension and keep the plant in its natural posture, it also regulates the opening and closing of stomata. The growth of plant cells is thought to be the result of a finely tuned interaction between turgor pressure (aimed at increasing volume) and rigid cell wall (aimed at limiting turgor-driven expansion). In order to describe growth at a mechanical level, it is necessary to quantify the turgor pressure and the elastic properties of the cell wall.
