Question

What makes a stem bend towards sunlight?

Answer 1

The bending of plant towards light is known as phototropism. It is due to plant hormone auxins. When the growing parts of a phototropic plant detect sunlight, auxins (synthesized at the shoot tips) help the cells grow longer. When light falls on one side of the plant, the auxins generally diffuse towards the shaded side of the shoot. This stimulates the cells in the shaded area to grow longer than the corresponding cells of the illuminated region. This results in the curvature of the plant stem tip towards the light.