Abstract: Maize is one of the most main cereal crops, the production increasing of which has always been a focus of agricultural research. The number of tassel branches is not only the important constituent in the structure of tassel, but has a significant impact on the dense-tolerant plant architecture, which is the key way to increase yield. Therefore, research on the genetic regulation of tassel branch number is of great significance for guiding plant architecture breeding to improve yield. Currently, numerous studies have cloned and identified genes related to the tassel branch number, many of which are closely associated with pathways of plant hormones. This review outlines the basic process of maize tassel branch development, systematically summarizes the roles and signaling pathways of auxin, strigolactone, cytokinin, abscisic acid and gibberellin in regulating maize tassel branch number, further organizes phytohormone signaling network, and finally provides several suggestions. Additionally, this review makes prospects to promote the direction that the interaction of hormones and environmental factors regulates the tassel branch number, which is aimed to provide a reference for revealing the molecular mechanisms of phytohormone regulation of maize tassel branch number, besides, to lay a theoretical foundation for the new cultivars of maize ideotype through plant hormones.

Key words: Maize,, Tassel branch number,, Plant hormone,, Environmental factor,, Genetic regulation