{"id":43608,"date":"2026-01-17T18:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=43608"},"modified":"2026-01-17T18:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T00:38:20","slug":"word-of-the-day-1087","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/01\/17\/word-of-the-day-1087\/","title":{"rendered":"Word Of The Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Thigmomorphogenesis<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Thigmomorphogenesis is a phenomenon observed in plants in response to physical disturbances such as wind or touch. This adaptive response typically results in a reduction of stem elongation and an increase in stem diameter, leading to the development of shorter and sturdier plants. Such structural changes help plants withstand mechanical stress in their natural environments, making them less prone to damage compared to taller, more slender varieties. The response is particularly significant in plants grown indoors, where the absence of mechanical stimuli can lead to thinner, weaker structures that struggle when transplanted outdoors.<em> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebsco.com\/research-starters\/anatomy-and-physiology\/thigmomorphogenesis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>EBSCO<\/strong><\/a>]<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Say that five times fast. Noted in &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg26935760-900-why-stroking-seedlings-can-help-them-grow-big-and-strong\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Why stroking seedlings can help them grow big and strong<\/em><\/a>,&#8221; James Wong, <em><strong>NewScientist<\/strong><\/em> (3 January 2026, paywall):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Chemical growth regulators are one answer, helping produce sturdier, more compact plants. However, many of these substances aren\u2019t available to home gardeners. Fortunately, research has shown that mechanical stimulation \u2013 simply rubbing, shaking or stroking seedlings \u2013 is also remarkably effective at reducing etiolation. This is all down to a phenomenon called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/35154691\/Frank_W_Telewski_Thigmomorphogenesis_the_response_of_plants_to_mechanical_perturbation\">thigmomorphogenesis<\/a>, where plants alter their growth patterns in response to forces such as touch, wind, rain or vibration, by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Joyce-Latimer-2\/publication\/279499075_Brushing_Influences_Transplant_Growth_and_Subsequent_Yield_of_Four_Cultivars_of_Tomato_and_Their_Hybrid_Lines\/links\/55c0d1c508aec0e5f44800d5\/Brushing-Influences-Transplant-Growth-and-Subsequent-Yield-of-Four-Cultivars-of-Tomato-and-Their-Hybrid-Lines.pdf\">growing thicker stems<\/a>, more supportive tissues and an overall shorter, stockier stature. Although scientists are still unravelling exactly how plants sense and translate these signals at the cellular level,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Joyce-Latimer-2\/publication\/279499075_Brushing_Influences_Transplant_Growth_and_Subsequent_Yield_of_Four_Cultivars_of_Tomato_and_Their_Hybrid_Lines\/links\/55c0d1c508aec0e5f44800d5\/Brushing-Influences-Transplant-Growth-and-Subsequent-Yield-of-Four-Cultivars-of-Tomato-and-Their-Hybrid-Lines.pdf\">numerous studies<\/a>\u00a0demonstrate that mechanically stimulated seedlings are not only structurally sturdier, but also more resilient to threats like pests\u00a0and drought.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thigmomorphogenesis: Thigmomorphogenesis is a phenomenon observed in plants in response to physical disturbances such as wind or touch. This adaptive response typically results in a reduction of stem elongation and an increase in stem diameter, leading to the development of shorter and sturdier plants. Such structural changes help plants withstand \u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2026\/01\/17\/word-of-the-day-1087\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43609,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43608\/revisions\/43609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}