Described herein is a transgenic plant that comprises a recombinant DNA construct that contains a nucleic acid sequence operably linked to a promoter, the nucleic acid sequence encoding an AFL1 polypeptide, a recombinant DNA construct for inhibiting expression of a PD15 polypeptide or a NAI2 polypeptide, or a loss-of-function pdi5 or nai2 mutation, wherein the transgenic plant exhibits increased growth under drought as compared to a control plant.