The height above the bud union at which induced feathers develop on fruit trees in the nursery is an important determinant of tree quality for an intended market. The bioregulators cyclanilide (CYC; Bayer Environmental Science, Research Triangle Park, NC) and a proprietary formulation of 6-benzyladenine and gibberellins A4 and A7 (Promalin [PR]; Valent BioSciences, Walnut Creek, CA) affected the final height above the union of the lowest induced sylleptic shoot (feather) differently in apple and sweet cherry trees in the nursery. In apple, both products resulted in the lowest induced feather developing at approximately 4 to 20 cm below the height of the central leader shoot tip at the time of bioregulator application. In sweet cherry, the lowest induced feather typically originated starting approximately 2 to 20 cm above the central leader shoot tip height at the time of bioregulator application. Nursery tree height can serve as a suitable criterion for timing bioregulator applications to obtain feathers starting within a specific range of height above the bud union as long as species-specific feathering response characteristics are taken into account. Chemical names used: 1-(2,4-dichlorophenylaminocarbonyl)-cyclopropane carboxylic acid (Cyclanilide), N-(phenylmethyl)-1H-purine-6-amine + gibberellins A4A7 (Promalin), polyoxyethylenepolypropoxypropanol, dihydroxypropane, 2-butoxyethanol (Regulaid).
Abstract
Cytokinins and gibberellins applied to dormant buds on young apple trees significantly increased the number of growing buds and the angle between the main trunk and the new shoot. Total shoot growth on treated trees was nearly double that of control trees. Nursery trees treated with growth regulators several weeks before planting produced branches with wide crotch angles from which good permanent primary scaffold limbs could be selected.
Applying a 200 ppm solution of CPPU to pollinated ovaries of watermelon (Citrullus lunatus Matsum) at anthesis increased fruit set from 26.9% (control) to 95%. Applying CPPU solutions to nonpollinated ovaries at anthesis induced parthenocarpy, yielding 65% and 89.5% fruit set, respectively with 20 and 200 ppm applications. However, 64% of the 20 ppm CPPU-treated parthenocarpic fruit stopped growth 10 days after treatment. Growth of CPPU-treated, pollinated, and nonpollinated fruit increased significantly compared with growth of control fruit during the first 10 days after treatment, but, except for the 20 ppm CPPU parthenocarpic fruit, growth subsequently slowed, resulting in fruit equal in size to the control by harvest. CPPU application did not affect soluble solids content of pollinated fruit, but reduced content of parthenocarpic fruit treated with 20 ppm. Fructose content was generally higher than glucose and sucrose at harvest. However, in pollinated fruit treated with 20 ppm CPPU, sucrose levels were higher than glucose and fructose. These results suggest that CPPU is practical for promoting fruit set and seedless fruit without adversely affecting fruit quality and development.
Abstract
Effects of NAA and BA in media on plantlet vigor and suitable methods of acclimatization to field conditions for garlic (Allium sativum L. ‘Katei’), obtained from shoot apices in vitro, were studied. After 60 days of culture, plantlet growth was normal and vigorous when produced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing both NAA and BA at 0.01 mg·liter-1. Bulb formation was observed in plantlets after 60 days by transferring to the medium containing both NAA and BA at 0.01 mg·liter-1 or NAA at 0.1 mg·liter-1 and BA at 0.01 mg·liter-1. For acclimatization, aseptic bulb-lets were transferred to subculture medium containing both NAA and BA at 0.1 mg liter-1; plants were obtained after 50 days of acclimatization on rockwool, vermiculite, or soil. All of the plants survived under acclimatization conditions of 20C with a 16-hr day-length of 20 μmol·s-1m-2. Rockwool was found to be the best medium for acclimatization, followed by soil and vermiculite. Chemical names used: 2-(l-naphthyl)acetic acid (NAA); N-phenylmethyl)-1H-purin-6-amine (BA).
The effects of TDZ (0, 0.1, 1, 5 and 10 μm) and explant orientation on adventitious shoot regeneration of `Erntedank' lingonberry were studied. Moderate concentration (1 to 5 μm) of TDZ supported bud and shoot regeneration, but strongly inhibited shoot elongation. TDZ initiated cultures were transferred to medium containing 1-2 μm zeatin and produced usable shoots after one additional subculture. Adventitious bud and shoot regeneration was greatly influenced by explant orientation. Elongated shoots were rooted on a 2 peat: 1 perlite (v/v) medium, and the plantlets were acclimatized and eventually established in the greenhouse with 80% to 90% survival rate.
The effects of Promalin® [PROM; 100 mg·L–1 each of GA4+7 and benzyladenine (BA)] sprays on leaf chlorosis and plant height during greenhouse production of ancymidol-treated (two 0.5-mg drenches per plant) Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum Thunb. `Nellie White') were investigated. Spraying with PROM at early stages of growth [36 or 55 days after planting (DAP)] completely prevented leaf chlorosis until the puffy bud stage, and plants developed less severe postharvest leaf chlorosis after cold storage at 4 °C for 2 weeks. When PROM was sprayed on plants in which leaf chlorosis had already begun (80 DAP), further leaf chlorosis was prevented during the remaining greenhouse phase and during the postharvest phase. PROM caused significant stem elongation (23% to 52% taller than controls) when applied 36 or 55 DAP, but not when applied at 80 DAP or later. The development of flower buds was not affected by PROM treatments. Although PROM sprays applied at 55 DAP or later increased postharvest flower longevity, earlier applications did not. Chemical names used: N-(phenylmethyl)-1H-purine 6-amine (benzyladenine, BA); α-cyclopropyl-α-(p-methoxyphenyl)-5-pyrimidinemethanol (ancymidol).
To improve the efficiency of iris plant regeneration, we tested the influence of several combinations of Kin and NAA in culture media on the induction of morphogenesis and the subsequent development of plantlets. The highest rates of regeneration (67%) were consistently observed in induction media containing 0.5 μm NAA and either 2.5 or 12.5 μm Kin. Developing medium containing 1.25 μm BA was optimal for high regeneration rates and a high percentage of plantlets simultaneously developing shoots and roots. Rooted plantlets were easily acclimatized and transplanted to various soil mixtures, then grown in the greenhouse. Under optimal conditions as many as 8000 plantlets could be regenerated from 1 g of cells in ≈4 months. Chemical names used: kinetin (Kin); 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA); N6-benzyladenine (BA).
Plants were regenerated from leaf tissue of greenhouse-grown seedlings of Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila L.). Shoot regeneration was induced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 5 to 10 μm of BA. Up to 55% of the leaf explants formed shoots with an average of 2.4 shoots per explant. Addition of 2.5 or 5 μm of IBA failed to enhance regeneration. Thidiazuron at 0.5 or 1.0 μm also induced shoot regeneration, but the shoots failed to elongate as well as shoots regenerated from media containing BA. Incubation in darkness for 7, 14, or 21 d had little effect in promoting shoot regeneration, except that incubation for 21 d increased shoot regeneration on the medium with 5.0 μm BA. Genotypes differed in shoot regeneration potential, with regeneration frequencies ranging from 13% to 55%. Regenerated shoots were micropropagated on Driver and Kuniyuki Walnut medium. Ninety percent of microcuttings rooted directly in potting soil. This regeneration system will be valuable for genetic transformation and cell selection of Siberian elm. Chemical names used: 6-benzylaminopurine (BA); indole-3-butyric acid (IBA); N-phenyl-N′ -1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-ylurea (thidiazuron, TDZ).
The effects of stratification, BA, thiourea, and GA3 were examined on germination of Liatris spicata (L.) Willd. seed. Seeds were germinated at 20 °C and numbers of germinated seed were counted daily for 21 days. The final germination percentage (G) for seeds stored dry at 4 °C for 0 to 10 weeks ranged from 52% to 64%, while stratification at 4 °C for 10 weeks increased G to 98% and decreased the days to 50% of final germination (T50) and the days between 10% and 90% germination (T90-T10). Aqueous solutions of BA at 10 or 100 mg·L-1 applied to blotter paper increased G and decreased T50 but did not affect T90-T10. In a separate experiment, dry seeds were treated for 3 minutes in BA at 0 to 1126 mg·L-1 dissolved in acetone. G values increased quadratically, whereas T50 and T90-T10 values decreased quadratically in response to BA concentration. A 3-minute preplant acetone permeation of seeds with BA at 225 or 1127 mg·L-1 yielded G and T50 values similar to those obtained with 10 weeks of stratification. Seeds immersed in thiourea at 0.76 or 7.61 mg·L-1 for 24 hours prior to sowing had higher G and lower T50 values than controls (0 mg·L-1 thiourea), but T90-T10 values were similar for all treatments. Seeds treated with GA3 at 1, 10, or 100 mg·L-1 in H2O did not differ from controls (0 mg·L-1 GA3) in G, T50, or T90-T10. Infusion of BA via acetone may be a practical means of breaking seed dormancy and accelerating germination in L. spicata. Chemical names used: N-(phenylmethyl)-1H-purine-6-amine [benzyladenine (BA)]; gibberellic acid (GA3); thiocarbamide (thiourea).