Growth Rate

Enhancement of Growth Rate

An important approach to improving yield, which is especially important for biofuel feedstocks, where all of the aerial plant matter is utilized, is to enhance plant growth rate. Plants are built by dividing groups of stems cells known as meristems within shoots, roots, flowers, and stems. Mendel has identified more than twenty transcription factors that control the activity of meristems and which can be applied to enhance the growth capacity and final size of plant organs. One of our most promising is the Mendel HERCULES technology which has been demonstrated to increase organ size and biomass in a diverse range of plant species.