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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth

Published on: July 1, 2019

Radial plant growth.

Nina Tonn¹, Thomas Greb¹

¹Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

Current Biology : CB

|September 13, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Plants exhibit remarkable growth capacity through radial growth, also known as secondary growth. This process allows plants to increase in girth, forming wood, bast, and cork, contributing to biomass accumulation.

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Area of Science:

Plant Biology
Botany
Developmental Biology

Background:

Plants possess extraordinary growth capacity, leading to diverse body forms shaped by environmental factors.
Plastic variation and lifelong biomass accumulation are crucial plant features.
Radial growth, or secondary growth, is fundamental to plant development.

Purpose of the Study:

To define and explain radial growth in plants.
To differentiate radial growth from primary growth.

Main Methods:

The study defines radial growth as the increase in girth.
It specifies the formation of wood, bast, and cork as key components of radial growth.
It contrasts radial growth with primary growth occurring at root and stem tips.

Main Results:

Radial growth enables plants to increase in girth.
Secondary growth is the technical term for radial growth.
Primary growth is distinct from secondary growth, occurring at plant extremities.

Conclusions:

Radial growth is a vital process for plant biomass accumulation and form.
Understanding secondary growth is key to comprehending plant development and adaptation.