Light-mediated self-organization of sunflower stands increases oil yield in the field

Significance Self-organization in biological systems spans from molecular to ecosystem levels. In plant populations and communities, only a primitive mode of self-organization has been described, which involves changes in demography (survival of individuals affected by the availability of resources). Here, we show that sunflower plants cultivated in high-density stands perceive light signals from their immediate neighbors, adopt alternate positions of their single stem along the crop row, and collectively increase production per unit land area. This process is a case where a communicative sensory network leads to self-organization in plants, without changes in demography. Agronomic and genetic adaptations will be necessary to capture the increased oil production of self-organized stands.