perennial-crops
Perennial crops are cultivated plant species that persist and produce yields for more than two years without needing to be replanted, encompassing many fruit, nut, herb, and vegetable species. Unlike annual crops, perennials develop deep root systems and established soil networks that reduce erosion, improve soil health, and support more stable agroecosystems. From a plant science perspective, perennials offer a compelling model for studying long-term growth regulation, resource allocation, and the genetic mechanisms underlying multi-year life cycles.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-07
This review synthesizes what scientists know about rhizomes — the underground horizontal stems that let plants spread, store energy, and survive year after year — and finds that while certain plant hormones clearly drive rhizome formation, the specific genes responsible remain largely unidentified. Researchers propose the wild monkeyflower plant as a tractable model to finally decode rhizome genetics, with broad implications for perennial crops and stress-resilient agriculture.
Three plant hormones — auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin — are identified as the primary regulators of rhizome initiation and growth, acting in context-dependent ways shaped by environmental and developmental signals.
Rhizome traits like branching and elongation are typically controlled by many genes simultaneously, though the monkeyflower genus (Mimulus) shows comparatively simpler genetic patterns that make it easier to study.
Despite transcriptomic studies flagging hormone signaling, stress response, and carbohydrate metabolism as key pathways, almost no individual genes have been experimentally confirmed as causal — underscoring how early this field still is.