The Role of Phytohormones in Crop Plant Growth and Development

Dear Colleagues,

With the exponential increase in world population, food security has come under threat and enhancing food security without compromising its quality is required. Adding an additional constraint is the global warming issue that is causing continuous change in climate conditions, further threatening food security. Being sessile, a plant cannot move itself to a comfortable environment and has to face both biotic and abiotic stresses present in the environment. The expectation of ensuring food security at multiple levels includes the introduction of new technologies, genetic manipulation of relevant genes along with application of growth regulators in the agricultural sectors.

Phytohormones work together in a cascade of networks that affect each other’s action and reaction. The major phytohormones include auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, abscisic acid and ethylene. Brassinosteroids, jasmonic, salicylic acid, nitric oxide, melatonin, polyamines, strigolactones and karrikins are also included in the category of growth regulators. In this context, plant-growth regulators play an important role. Injudicious use of fertilizers can enhance plant growth but they can harm the environment through surface run off or over-accumulation in edible parts. Phytohormones control plant growth and development through affecting plant metabolism, such as enhancing nutrient uptake and defense systems. Undoubtedly, the emphasis is to increase growth and yield in plants to maintain the sustainability of both land and population depending on the land produce. In addition, it is necessary to promote research and dissemination of the obtained results in the farmer’s field for proper use of these growth regulators in agricultural output.

This Special Issue focuses on the role of phytohormones in plant growth and development under unstressed and stressed conditions. We invite original research articles, opinion articles, reviews and methods in this context on the topics listed below (but not limited to these):

• The mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis and signaling of phytohormones under stress or no-stress conditions.
• Implications of the interactions between different phytohormones under different environmental conditions.
• Impacts of phytohormones on influencing plant metabolism for growth through major metabolic processes.
• Phytohormone crosstalk with different nutrients in influencing plant growth under both optimal and stressful conditions.
• The interactions of phytohormones with phytohormones, such as growth regulators, in plant growth and development.
• The role of phytohormones in managing biotic stresses in plants.
• The interactions of phytohormones with other plant growth regulators, such as substances, in affecting plant growth and development.
• Revealing the roles of phytohormones under biotic and abiotic stress conditions using omics technologies.
• Genetic manipulation of phytohormones for plant development and stress tolerance.

Dr. Noushina Iqbal
Dr. M. Iqbal R. Khan
Guest Editors

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• phytohormones
• abiotic stress
• plant growth regulators
• biotic stress
• plant growth
• photosynthesis
• plant metabolism
• adaptation
• development
• nutrients
• source-sink
• sustainability