Journal of Plant Growth Regulation

, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp 27–36 | Cite as

Gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitors: Comparing growth-retarding effectiveness on apple

  • G. L. Steffens
Article
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Accepted:

Abstract

The relative growth inhibitory activities of paclobutrazol [(2RS,3RS)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)pentan-3-ol]; XE-1019 [(E)-(1-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol]; flurprimidol [α-(1-methylethyl)-α-[4-(trifluoromethyloxy)-phenyl]-5-pyrimidine-methanol]; and triadimefon (a fungicide) [1-(4-chlorophenoxy)-3,3-dimethyl-1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-2-butanone] were evaluated and compared by treating the root zone of young greenhouse-grown tissue-culture-propagated ‘Gala’ (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees. At 0.25 mg/plant, only XE-1019 significantly reduced new stem length and number, area, and dry weight of leaves after 115 days. Paclobutrazol and flurprimidol both significantly reduced growth compared to controls when applied at 0.5 mg/plant, but XE-1019 was more effective. All three gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis inhibitors effectively retarded growth at a dosage of 1 mg/plant. Triadimefon applied at 10 mg/plant had essentially no effect on growth, but at 50 and 100 mg/plant it caused significant but less dramatic growth retardation when compared with the GA inhibitors. Major differences in effectiveness among the triazole GA biosynthesis inhibitors may be due to longevity of effect as well as to extent of inhibition.

Keywords

Triazole Gibberellin Stem Length Paclobutrazol Growth Inhibitory Activity 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1988

Authors and Affiliations

  • G. L. Steffens
    • 1
  1. 1.Fruit Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research ServiceUSDABeltsvilleUSA

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