FACTORS INVOLVED IN BREAKING BUD DORMANCY IN VIRUS‐INFECTED STEM CUTTINGS OF EUPHORBIA PULCHERRIMA

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Abstract
Summary: Euphorbia pulcherrima, a vegetatively propagated ornamental plant, normally grows vegetatively in summer and is dormant in winter. Buds on virus‐infected rooted stem cuttings of this plant grew into leafy branches during the normal dormant period while the buds on similar stem cuttings obtained from healthy stocks remained quiescent or sometimes gave rise to cyathia. Estimations of seasonal variations in the endogenous levels of growth inhibitors (abscisic acid and phenols) and of a growth promoter (gibberellin) together with treatment of stem cuttings with GA3, indicated that the dormancy in virus‐infected stem cuttings may be broken because of their low abscisic acid and phenol levels and high gibberellin levels.