Treatment of Seeds with Synthetic Growth-Regulating Substances

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Greenhouse expts. with radish at the U. S. Bureau of Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland, and with oat at the Univ. of Chicago failed to indicate statistically significant increased growth of plants from seeds treated with growth-regulating substances over those not treated. Indoleacetic acid, indolebutyric acid, and naphthalene acetamide were applied to seeds in talc dust at cones, from 2 to 33,000 ppm. They were also applied by soaking the seeds 14 hours in water solns. of these substances at concs. from 10 to 500 ppm. Application of levulinic acid in a variety of ways to seeds and plants failed to increase their growth over untreated ones. Commercial prepns. of growth substances for seed treatment, used according to manufacturers'' directions, were similarly ineffective. With radish these chemicals and mixtures were applied to seeds grown on 3 soil types but caused no significant increased growth of the plants on any of the soils. Field expts. at Beltsville with radish, oat, turnip, sugar beet, soybean, squash, carrot, buckwheat, and corn likewise failed to indicate statistically significant increased growth of plants from seeds treated with 7 growth substances, including several commercial prepns. Field expts. on sugar beet and radish were duplicated at Lake Geneva, Wise, on a different soil and with different climatic conditions but with similar results. Levulinic acid treatments applied in a number of ways to seeds of these crops likewise failed to increase their growth. Seeds of U. S. Hybrid 113 and Yellow Dent corn were treated by dusting with 1% naphthaleneacetic acid in talc; by dusting with 1% levulinic acid in talc; by soaking 14 hrs. in 1% levulinic acid; and with 3 commercial prepns. The seeds were grown on both fertilized and unfertilized soil. Measurement of stalk and grain yield failed to indicate any significant increase as a result of any of the treatments.