Suction pressure is also called Diffusion Pressure Deficit. If some solute is dissolved in solvent, its diffusion pressure decreases. The difference between diffusion pressure of pure solvent and solution is called diffusion pressure deficit (DPD). It is a reduction in the diffusion pressure of solvent in the solution over its pure state due to the presence of solutes in it and forces opposing diffusion.

When a plant cell is placed in a hypotonic solution, water enters into a cell by endosmosis and as a result turgor pressure (TP) develops in the cell. The cell membrane becomes stretched and the osmotic pressure (OP) of the cell decreases. As the cell absorbs more and more water its turgor pressure increases and osmotic pressure decreases. When a cell is fully turgid, its OP is equal to TP and DPD is zero. Turgid cells cannot absorb any more water. Thus, with reference to plant cells, the DPD can be described as the actual thirst of a cell for water and can be expressed as :

${\displaystyle DPD=OP-TP}$

Thus it is DPD that tends to equate and represents the water-absorbing ability of a cell, it is also called suction force (SF) or suction pressure (SP). The actual pressure with which a cell absorbs water is called "suction pressure".