How root and shoot development can mitigate crop stress
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Enhance crop success with optimal root and shoot growth.
A plant’s root and shoot systems make up two of the most important functions that are essential for crop development and yield.
Shoots play a vital role in capturing light energy for photosynthesis, while roots anchor plants in the ground, extracting essential water and nutrients from the soil to support growth.
Proper root and shoot development not only enhance overall plant development, but also boosts competitiveness, maximizes yield potential, and plays a crucial role in a plant’s ability to withstand stress.
Why should farmers prioritize root and shoot development?
Roots and shoots are essential for nutrient and water intake as well as the ability to manage plant stress. Encouraging proper root and shoot development enhances overall plant health, leading to higher quality crops, improved yields, and a stronger bottom line for farmers.
Manage crop stress with roots and shoots
While many factors can restrict root and shoot growth, abiotic stressors are one of the key triggers.
A plant’s ability to enhance nutrient uptake and facilitate overall growth, especially during periods of stress, will naturally make them more resilient and improve plant growth, even in the most challenging situations.
How abiotic stressors impact plant root development:
- Under drought conditions, roots no longer have adequate amounts of critical growth hormones Auxin and Cytokinin to conduct normal cell division (producing new cells).
- Heat stress and cold stress also reduce the amount of Auxin and Cytokinin available.
Abiotic stressors significantly affect shoot development and can reduce a plant’s energy supply by inhibiting photosynthesis. For instance, reduced photosynthesis due to nitrogen or water deficiency (often caused by drought conditions, high soil salinity or extreme temperatures) can lead directly to yield loss.
The role of Auxin and Cytokinin
Plant growth hormones, like Auxin and Cytokinin control every aspect of how plants grow, including stretching, branching, dormancy, flowering, and ripening. They also support a plant’s defense from pathogens, manage stress tolerance, and control reproductive development.
Auxin promotes cell growth and elongation of the plant. During the elongation process, Auxin alters the plant wall plasticity making it easier for the plant to grow upwards. Auxin also influences rooting formations.
Cytokinin is an important plant hormone that triggers cell division that directly impacts plant growth. This hormone also controls every aspect of plant growth and development, including meristem function, vascular development, stress responses, and senescence.
Both Auxin and Cytokinin are essential for root and shoot development, as well as the recovery and new growth development of roots and shoots to help plants overcome abiotic stressors and maximize yield potential.
The importance of root development
While most soil conditions typically supply sufficient nutrients for healthy plant growth, periods of crop stress can impede root and shoot development. What may initially seem to be a nutrient deficiency could actually be caused by the roots' inability to generate new root tips, which are essential for nutrient absorption.
This problem arises from a hormone imbalance due to insufficient levels of Auxin and Cytokinin. A lack of Auxin can cause reduced root stimulation and unequal growth rates in shoots, and the overall plant itself. A Cytokinin deficiency causes slower growth of shoots and can cause structural plant changes like dwarfism and smaller leaves. Since most nutrients are absorbed through new root tip tissue (root hairs), it’s vital for plants to maintain a healthy hormone balance to support continuous root tip growth, as well as access to nutrients in the soil. Without adequate root growth, plants cannot absorb enough nutrients, even in fertile soil.
Supporting root and shoot growth for success
Root and shoot development can be accelerated and enhanced with Biological crop protection products that provide supplemental hormones, such as Auxin and Cytokinin, to the plant.
Fortified Stimulate™ Yield Enhancer is strategically formulated to enhance root development, boost plant growth, and maximize yield. Containing a patented formulation of four critical plant growth hormones – Cytokinin, Gibberellic Acid (GA), and Auxins (IBA and IAA), this product can be applied as a seed treatment or foliar application to increase the levels of these naturally occurring hormones to improve the plant growth potential and optimize essential plant functions. As a result, the solution accelerates root development, promotes bigger and more robust plants that will be more resilient to stress – increasing yield potential and plant productivity.
To learn more about how accelerating root and shoot development with Fortified Stimulate Yield Enhancer can maximize your crop’s potential, contact your local Biological Innovation Manager today.
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