Revolutions in agriculture chart a course for targeted breeding of old and new crops

Growing more and better food Increasing human populations demand more productive agriculture, which in turn relies on crop plants adjusted for high-yield systems. Eshed and Lippman review how genetic tuning of the signaling systems that regulate flowering and plant architecture can be applied to crops. Crops that flower sooner might be adaptable to regions with shorter growing seasons, and compact plant shapes might facilitate agricultural management. The universality of these plant hormone systems facilitates application to a range of crops, from the orphan crop teff to the well-known wheat. Science , this issue p. eaax0025