Commercial Use of Plant Hormones

Commercial Use of Ethene

Control of fruit ripening

When is ethene used?

Climactic fruit such as bananas, tomatoes, and mangoes ripen with the gas ethene

Once picked (before they ripen) the fruit is stored in a cool place and when they are ready to be sold they will be exposed to ethene gas.

Rooting Powders

Used in micropropagation

Auxins in rooting powders

Auxins can stimulate shoot growth through apical dominance

Used in hormone rooting powders

Why do seedless plants need to be reproduced using rooting powders?

If they don't have seeds, then they can't reproduce.

The only way seedless plants can be reproduced is through using rooting powders such as auxins.

Hormonal Weed Killers

Synthetic auxins can be applied to weeds, and they will promote growth in the broad leaved weeds so much that they cannot support it and die.

This allows narrow leaved crops to grow without competition.

Advantages of hormonal weed killers

Cheaper

Less harmful to the environment

Commercial Use of Gibberellins

Causes germination of seeds used in beer brewing to produce malt

Can be used to delay ripening and ageing in fruit

Improves fruit shape and size

Lack of auxin, cytokinnins, and gibberellins aid in what?

Lack of auxin, cytokinnins, and gibberellins aid fruit dropping.

Ethene preserves cut flowers/green vegetables.