Plant Hormones and Growth Regulators: Mechanisms, Interactions, and Agricultural Applications

Naturally occurring substances called plant hormones are essential for controlling the growth and development of plants. They coordinate several physiological processes inside the plant by acting as chemical messengers. To control their growth and reactions to their surroundings, plants have their own unique set of hormones. Plant hormones come in various forms, such as Ethylene, gibberellins, auxins, cytokinins, and abscisic acid. Every hormone affects plant development differently. For instance, cytokinins stimulate cell division and encourage shoots’ growth, whereas auxins encourage cell elongation and root formation. Abscisic acid aids in seed dormancy and stress responses, gibberellins control stem elongation and blooming, and Ethylene is involved in fruit ripening and senescence. These hormones form a complicated network that influences one another’s behaviour and reacts to different environmental inputs. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are used to change a plant’s development in various ways, including promoting branching, decreasing shoot growth, increasing return bloom, eliminating extra fruit, or changing the maturity of the fruit. PGR performance is influenced by a wide range of parameters, such as the degree to which the plant absorbs the chemical, the age and vigour of the tree, the dosage, the timing, the cultivar, and the weather before, during, and after application. Farmers and scientists may control plant growth and development to increase crop production, improve fruit quality, and strengthen resistance to stressors by knowing the functions and interactions of these hormones. Plants control several aspects of the hormone response system, such as biosynthesis, metabolism, sensing, and signalling. Furthermore, plants have the rare capacity to regulate the dispersion of hormones in space.