Tiller growth and development depend on several nutritional and hormonal factors. A nodal tiller derives these biochemicals from the mother shoot before gaining independence for survival. The new dispensation of super/NPT rice has favoured the exclusion of unproductive tillers bereft of a thought given to making them productive by exploring the intrinsic factors regulating their occurrence. Auxin, cytokinins, gibberellins, ethylene, strigolactone, and brassinosteroids are the growth regulators that affect tillering. Of these hormones, the roles of auxin, cytokinin, and strigolactone are primary and central to the control of tiller bud activation. These three hormones move throughout the plant, forming a systemic signalling network, and interactions between them determine the final plant architecture and tiller number. Other hormones, such as GA, ABA, and ethylene, also influence the tiller production of rice in combination with the growth regulators of the primary group. The interplay of these hormones determines the tiller outgrowth of a plant. The paucity of information on this topic has hindered the identification of designer rice plants.