Plant intelligence in a rapidly changing world: Implementation of plant-plant communications in managed plant systems

Abstract

Modern farming practices rely heavily on resources input and intensive care involving huge human investments, which would likely lead to fast depletion of natural resources, increased greenhouse emissions, and soil degradations. In a world of rapid changes, the frequency of environmental stresses can be more significant than ever, consequently reducing the yield and threatening the living standards of human beings. In the pursuit of cost-effective solutions to satisfying stress management in agriculture, plant intelligence has been rarely considered despite its remarkable plasticity and adaptability to environmental stresses. To date, mounting evidence showed that plants could decipher their surroundings by sensing the environmental cues and generating signals that can be transferred to other plants. An improved fitness against stresses in receiver plants can be subsequently induced due to the anticipating responses in their metabolism, physiology, and defensive mechanisms. Thus, “smart” agricultural practices for stress management can incorporate plant intelligence to improve integrated crop management under field conditions.