5.3 - Application of Phytohormones in Agriculture

Phytohormones play a very important role in the growth and development of the plants. Today, phytohormones can be found naturally, synthetically or in the form of extract. The application of different kinds of phytohormones in agriculture can be seen below.

Auxin

• Promotes the growth of crops
• Induces the development of roots (asexual reproduction) on woody plant stems for horticultural crops
• Produce seedless fruits through parthenocarpy
• Acts as herbicides
• Slows down the germination of potatoes during storage or distribution
• Helps in the formation of low-lying and lush plants

Gibberellin

• Treats dwarf plants caused by mutation so that the plants can restore normal heights
• Induces fast elongation of flower stems
• Produce larger grapes
• Promotes germination of seeds such as salad, oat and tobacco when the temperature of the weather is low or low light intensity.

Cytokinin

• Used in tissue culture technique to induce cell division and differentiation
• Also used together with auxin to induce the formation of organs in plants such as the roots and stems in tissue culture technique
• Slows down the aging of the leaves in newly-cut flowering plants

Abscisic acid

• Affects the germination and growth of plants

Ethylene

• Induces ripening of the fruits more quickly and evenly to be commercialized
• Induces simultaneous production of flowers in plants in the field