Apical Dominance in Pharbitis nil: Effects Induced by Inverting the Apex of the Main Shoot

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Abstract
A shoot inversion method for releasing apical dominance in certain herbaceous plants is described. When the upper portion of the Pharbitis nil stem is inverted so that the terminal bud is lowered 15–20 cm below the bend, the highest lateral bud on the upright portion of the stem will begin to grow out within a few days. This response can be caused to occur at any node and is best demonstrated under moderate- to low-intensity light. The data suggest that within certain limits the rate of bud outgrowth may be correlated with the vertical distance below the bend by which the terminal bud is lowered. Preliminary data tend to discount the possibility that tension or stress generated in stem tissue due to bending is the cause of the lateral bud growth.