Chemical Control of Vegetative Growth and Fruitfulness of Tomatoes

Abstract

IN 1957, Eaton¹ described the induction of selective male sterility in flowers formed on various cotton varieties which had been sprayed with sodium 2,3-dichloro-2-methylpropionate solutions and projected the possibility of mass-producing F₁ hybrid cotton seed from rigorously inbred parents by the use of these treatments. Similar gametocidal responses to foliar sprays of this chemical have since been demonstrated by Moore² in eleven tomato varieties. Additional gametocidal and growth regulatory properties have been described for tomatoes, cotton and sugar beets³. Further experimentation on all three crops, using foliar sprays of this chemical, invariably induced an excessive amount of female sterility in the process of achieving the desired sterility in male flower parts⁴. As a result, the mass production of hybrid seed in these crops using this chemical has been impractical.