ABSTRACT
There are many changes to be made in contemporary agricultural practices to make them more aligned with regenerative farming. For decades, plant breeders have sought to maximize this index, which is formally defined as the percentage of crop biomass that goes into the edible portion of the crop plant. Plant breeders have sought to create genotypes whose phenotype would apportion as large a share as possible of the carbohydrates that a plant photosynthesized into its panicles or seed heads for grain formation and filling, aiming to maximize the Harvest Index. Root systems that grow deeply can reach both nutrients and water in the soil's lower horizons at the same time they support the soil biota through exudation, making the soil more hospitable for these organisms as well as more penetrable for other plants' roots. The soil system is an active participant in and beneficiary of plant growth.
