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Updated: Nov 19, 2025

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth
Published on: July 1, 2019
Root Tropisms: New Insights Leading the Growth Direction of the Hidden Half
Luigi Gennaro Izzo1, Giovanna Aronne1
1Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Abstract:
Tropisms are essential responses of plants, orienting growth according to a wide range of stimuli. Recently, considerable attention has been paid to root tropisms, not only to improve cultivation systems, such as those developed for plant-based life support systems for future space programs, but also to increase the efficiency of root apparatus in water and nutrient uptake in crops on Earth. To date, the Cholodny-Went theory of differential auxin distribution remains the principal tropistic mechanism, but recent findings suggest that it is not generally applicable to all root tropisms, and new molecular pathways are under discussion. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms and functions underlying root tropisms is needed. Contributions to this special issue aimed to embrace reviews and research articles that deepen molecular, physiological, and anatomical processes orchestrating root tropisms from perception of the stimulus to bending. The new insights will help in elucidating plant-environment interactions, providing potential applications to improve plant growth on Earth and in space where microgravity diminishes or nullifies the gravitropism dominance.
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