There is an inarguable need that we can’t ignore.  Our planet needs more food at lower costs.

There is new research that shows how to increase the length of root hairs on plants and thus potentially improving crop yields because plants with longer root hairs can take up minerals and water more efficiently.

Each root hair is a single, elongate cell and the length of each hair rests on having an adequate supply of the plant hormone auxin.  Auxin can be used in hormone rooting powders to encourage cuttings to root. The problem has been in understanding how auxin is delivered to the root hairs for growth.

Well…new research has now concluded that auxin is not delivered to root hair cells directly, but through the cells next to it that act as canals through which the auxin is transported. During this transport some of the auxin leaks out and this supplies the hair cells with the auxin signal to grow.

This new understanding will be very useful for helping farmers produce food sustainably and to reduce fertilizer waste.

These results also tell us that increasing the number of root hairs may interfere with auxin supply and cause problems with other important things like a plant’s response to gravity and root branching. The new understanding about increasing the length of roots hairs instead of their numbers, will help avoid these kinds of problems.