Use of plant hormones HT: Organism level systems: Biology: GCSE (9:1)

Agriculture

The art and science of farming involving cultivating soil and growing crops

Horticulture

The art or practice of garden cultivation and management

Uses of auxins

Herbicides, rooting powders, promoting growth in tissue culture

Auxins in rooting powder

Auxins in specific concentrations can promote the growth of the roots of plant cuttings

Auxins in weedkiller

Auxins in high concentrations can cause plants to grow too fast and use up energy stores and die

Selective weedkiller

Auxins can target specific plants by causing them to grow quicker and absorb substances such as weedkiller at a faster rate

Negative impact of weedkiller

Can significantly reduce biodiversity and impact food chains

Tissue culture

A plant divided into small cultures of cells that is incubated with plant hormones for the mass production of identical plant clones

Plant cuttings

A piece of a plant that is removed and dipped in rooting powder to produce a genetically identical plant clone

Plant clones

Genetically identical plants that can be quickly produced and have identical characteristics

Applications of plant clones

Can be used for plant species conservation, scientific research or for horticultural purposes

Apical meristem

The growth region in plant shoots and roots containing undifferentiated cells and is also the site of auxin production

Gibberellins

Plant hormones that are important in the initiation of seed germination

Uses of gibberellins

End seed dormancy by encouraging early germination, promote flowering, increase fruit size and produce seedless fruit

Ethene

Plant hormone that controls cell division and promotes ripening of fruits

Uses of ethene

Used in the food industry to control ripening of fruit during storage and transport by promoting or inhibiting ethene release