Plant Hormones: Their Roles and Applications In Plant Stress Mitigation

The impact of plant hormones on plant growth and development has been extensively characterized.  How plant hormones affect plant stress mitigation and plant defenses has only recently been appreciated. In fact, studies of plant responses to stresses and/or pests have resulted in the identification of new compounds that can be characterized as plant hormones. Exogenous application of plant hormones, or compounds that stimulate or inhibit hormone synthesis can decrease the susceptibility of plants to pests and/or diseases. How ethylene, abscisic acid, and jasmonic acid application mitigates biotic and abiotic stresses will be discussed. The effect of application of compounds that decrease gibberellin biosynthesis on plant stress tolerance and/or disease resistance will also be outlined. Current applied techniques that increase stress mitigation by altering hormone concentration in the ornamental and vegetable production industries will be summarized. How pre-stressing can result in increased subsequent stress and/or pest tolerance will be discussed. In addition, opportunity areas for research will be discussed.