Let's talk about plant hormones

When agriculture is done, the goal is that the crops have an adequate growth and in this way fulfill their life cycle and satisfy the nutritional needs of the human being either through fruits, leaves, seeds among other organs that can be consumed by society. Generally, when talking about the optimal growth of plants in agroecosystems, a lot is said about the climatic elements and the nutrients that the soil can provide to plant species, of course, that both the top and the influences on the growth process, but also some hormones that intervene in this process.

In plants, hormones are known as phytohormones and these are molecules whose main effect occurs at the cellular level, changing the growth patterns of plants and allowing their control. In this sense, the authors Proverbio and Marín (2002), make a comparison with animals pointing out that they have structures in the form of glands that are responsible for secreting hormones, whereas in plants hormones are secreted by cells located in strategic places.

Among the strategic places mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are for example the roots, stems and growth tissues known as meristems, then the cells found in these organs and tissues produce certain chemicals that act as hormones regulating certain specific functions of the plant such as organ growth, seed development, flowering, fruiting among other processes.

- Auxins: this group of plant hormones are produced in the cells of the meristematic tissues of plants at the apices of roots and stems, these hormones present some chemical substances that have several functions such as stimulating the growth of the plant through cell division, stimulating the formation of the radical system and the ripening process of the fruits., this growth as we mentioned is done by the enlargement of the cells.

- Gibberellins: this group of phytohormones among its functions are the stimulation of the growth of the stems, inducing germination, as well as the sprouting of themes and development of the fruits, these hormones can act on growth from the stage of germination.

- Cytokinins: this hormone is synthesized in the plant in the apical meristems of the roots and also in fruits, among the functions that this hormone has is to inhibit the lateral development of the roots and delay the aging of the plant organs.

In addition to these phytohormones, there is also ethylene, which among its functions is to accelerate the ripeness of fruits and promote plant aging. To perform a re-centering it can be said that in the germination process gibberellins act after the plant has emerged auxins act for the vegetative growth of the plant and then cytokinins can help the formation of branches. In case there is a very strong climatic variation such as extreme drought, leaf or fruit fall can be observed due to the stress of the plant and where a hormone known as abscisic acid acts.

Dear readers, it can be evidenced how certain hormones act on plants and their important function to stimulate certain organs and thus guarantee the growth and development of plants, all always in relation to the biotic and abiotic factors of the ecosystems where the plant is located, for example, grasses are plants where these hormones act to stimulate the tissues of growth, but if the plant has excessive pressure from animals, you will not see proper plant growth because the right conditions for regrowth do not exist.