Critical crops have advantage in coping with dry and stressful conditions

Scientists have discovered that certain plants can survive stressful, dry conditions by controlling water loss through their leaves without relying on their usual mechanism – tiny pores known as ‘stomata’. Nonstomatal control of transpiration in maize, sorghum, and proso millet – all C4 crops that are critical for global food security – gives these plants an advantage in maintaining a beneficial microclimate for photosynthesis within their leaves.