Effects of CCC on the Formation and Abortion of Flowers in the First Inflorescence of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

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Abstract
Treatment of tomato plants with (2-chloroethyl)trimethylammonium chloride (CCC) reduced their growth in height and d. wt and increased the number of flowers formed in the first inflorescence. In plants grown at a high temperature with low light, application of CCC reduced the incidence of flower abortion in the first inflorescence. Effects of α-cyclopropyl-α-(4-methoxyphenyl)-α-(pyrimidin-5-yl)methanol (ancymidol) were similar to those of CCC while a third growth retardant, N-dimethylaminosuccinamic acid (B-9), was effective in reducing growth in height but was without apparent effect on flower number or flower abortion. An interaction occurred between CCC and GA3 such that effects of CCC on growth and flowering were reduced when GA was also applied. Yields of diffusible gibberellin-like substances from the shoot tips were markedly reduced by treating plants with CCC but were apparently not affected by treating plants with B-9. It is suggested that effects of CCC on flowering in tomato are mediated, in part at least, through changes in levels of endogenous gibberellins.