The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for improving various plant growth characteristics by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a NAC10-like polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding a NAC10-like polypeptide, which plants have improved growth characteristics relative to corresponding wild type plants or other control plants. The invention also provides constructs useful in the methods of the invention.