MEASUREMENT OF GROWTH:-

Growth of plants can be measured in terms of number of leaves, height and weight.

(a)direct method- height of the plant is measured simply with a scale ,measuring tape at regular
intervals. It is a rather crude method.

(b)horizontal microscope- it is a simple compound microscope fitted horizontally on a stage that can
slide over a graduated vertical stand. A point is marked on stem of plant and focused by microscope.
The distance travelled by microscope is read from scale, it gives actual increase in height of the plant
in given time.

(c)arc-auxanometer- it is an instrument used to measure growth of plants . it consists of a pulley

connected to a pointer on an arc scale fixed on a vertical stand. A thread can be passed over pulley
with one end tied to growth point of plant and other end is tied with a light weight to keep thread
stretched . when plant grows the pulley moves, by the rotation of pulley, pointer will move on scale.
The growth is read on arc scale.

(d) pleffer’s automatic auxanometer- is an instrument , consists of a vertical pulley and a small
weight is tied at either ends of the thread to keep it stretched. A fine pointer is attached at one’s
side of thread. Pointer is kept in touched with a rotating drum smoked on the outer surface. Another
thread whose one end with a small weight and another end tied with tip of the plant is passed over
the other pulley. The drum is rotated automatically at constant speed during growth, pulleys move
correspondingly and hence the pointer makes scratching marks on the drum , hence the rate of
growth is calculated from the rotation of drum and movement of pulleys.

FACTORS AFFECTING GROWTH

Growth is affected by various factors which affect the activity of protoplasm . important factors
which affect the plant growth are as follows:-

 Light- by itself has no influence on growth. Infact high intensities of light may be even retard
the growth of plant . plants grown in complete darkness show etiolation, yellowing of leaves
due to poor development of chlorophyll. Absence of light, leads to elongation of internodes,
tenderness, in stem and poor development of mechanical tissues. Plants grown in presence
of light are strongly saturated.
 Temperature – it has a profound effect on growth. The optimum temperature needed for
the growth of plants in between 28Oc-330c. low temperature during nights and high
temperature during day also affect the growth.
 Water – adequate supply of water is necessary for all physiological activities including
growth. Plants under water stress cannot grow properly.
 Oxygen supply- proper supply of oxygen will ensure the process of growth by providing
adequate energy to the dividing cells by way of respiration , it is possible that oxygen may
have some influence on G1 phase of cell division.
 Nutrition- proper availability of nutrition both organic and inorganic is necessary for growth
under starvation have retarded growth.
 Genetic factors- like types of genes that individual plant inherits has an enormous influence
on growth proper growth takes place due to interplay of genetics and environmental factors.
 Chemical factors- studies on growth have revealed that certain chemicals synthesized by
plants themselves have a profound influence on growth. These are organic compounds
 synthesized in minute quantities but are very potent growth regulators and are called
growth hormones.

PHYTOHORMONES/ GROWTH HORMONES/ REGULATORS :-

Among the many factors influencing the growth, the most important one’s are PHYTOHORMONES.
The term hormone is derived from greek – urge/stimulate. Thimann (1948) suggested the usage of
term phytohormones. Since phytohormones mainly promote growth, hence they are called as
growth promoters.

Organic compounds which are synthesized/ produced in minute quantities in one part
of plant body and transported to another part where they affect the growth are called as growth
hormones /promoters/regulators.

Growth hormones are called phytohormones since they regulate physiological activities of plants.
Growth hormones are classified as naturally occurring growth hormones and synthetic growth
hormones.

Naturally occurring growth hormones are:-

AUXINS, GIBBERLINS, CYTOKININS, ETHYLENE and ABSICIC ACID.

1. AUXINS:- are the growth hormone which in a small concentrations bring about cell
elongation in shoots

-auxin means to grow and was introduced by kogl and Hagen Smit (1931)

-auxins are distributed throughout the plant body but a high concentration is found in growing
regions like root and shoot apices.

-auxins can diffuse from the place of their synthesis to other parts where thry promote growth

-F. W.Went (1928) reported that auxins are transported 1 inch per hour , but certainly ten times
faster than what could be brought about diffusion.

-chemically it is INDOLE-3 acetic acid (IAA)

-synthetic auxins are indole butyric acid (IBA) 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), naptholene
acetic acid (NAA)

-Went (1928) isolated auxin from the avena (oat) coleoptile tips. He devised avena curvature test to
demonstrate presence of auxins in a liquid if coleoptile tip was removed , remaining coleoptile stops
growth and went named it as auxin

MECHANISM OF AUXIN ACTION

 IAA increases plasticity of cell wall bringing about elongation

 IAA induces DNA to synthesize Mrna which codes enzyme for cell
 IAA increases rate of oxidative phosphorylation and thereby increases energy supply and
enhances the rate of growth
 IAA induces production of ethylene which in turn pro motes growth
 According to some of the recent findings target cells have a specific protein receptor protein
which selectively binds auxin to a given cell . a theory has recently been proposed to explain
the influence of auxins to a given cell. According to this theory called acid growth hypothesis
 (1984) auxins influence target cells to secrete it into surrounding primary walls. This lowers
their p4 and loosens wall material allowing them to elongate.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF AUXINS :-

1. Apical dominance – ina great majority of flowering plants , if the apical bud is intact, it
suppresses the development of lateral buds. When the apical bud is removed, lateral
buds become active. The phenomenon of suppression of lateral buds by apical bud is
called apical dominance . it has been found out , that apical dominance is not due to
mere physical presence of apical bud , but due to production of transportation of auxins
in form
2. Cell division and cell elongation – auxins stimulate cell division in cambium and in
primary meristems . cell elongation brought about by additional production of wall
materials is an important mechanism role played by auxins. Another important
characteristic of auxins is its differentiated action on shoot tip and root tip. Higher auxin
concentration promotes cell division in shoot tip but inhibits cell division at root tip.
3. Root formation- auxins induce root formation at low cncentrations. This is made use by
horticulture to induce root formations in stem cuttings, the concentration is very critical
because is higher conc. Inhibits root growth
4. Prevention of abscission layer- auxins prevent leaf fall by suppressing formation of
abscission layer.
5. Parthenocarpy – parthenocarpy or seedless formation of fruit induced by auxins,
spraying of auxins on flowers induces parthenocarpic development of fruits in tomato,
apples , cucumbers etc.
6. Xylem differentiation- auxins can induce differentiation of xylem elements from
parenchymatous tissues. This is made of to oinduce vascular differentiation in callus,
produced during graftings.
7. Miscellaneous activities- enzymes concerned with aspartic acid metabolism are
activated by auxins while activity of peroxidase is lowered. Floral inhibition is another
auxin activity. But in pineapple it promotes flowering.
8. Respiration – auxin increases the rate of respiration in plant tissues. French and Breevers
had shown that auxins increase, availability of ADP for phosphorylation during
respiration.

In general the auxins have following affects of plant growth:-

 They induce elongation of plant cells

 Initiate cell division
 Auxin is responsible for apical dominates
 Auxin initiates root formation
 Auxin suppresses lateral bud growth
 Auxin promotes cambial activities
 Are used to break seed dormancy
 Auxins initiate early flowering and fruiting
 Stimulates vascular differentiation
 Inhibits leaf fall and fruit fall
 Auxins are used as weed killers

2.GIBBERLINS:-
 are another kind of growth hormones first discovered in japan

 These are the hormones which stimulate the elongation of internodes

 It was discovered by Yabuta and Hayashi in 1939
 It was named so, because it was first isolated from fungus Gibberlina fugikccren
 Now they are found in all plants
 All the organs of flowering plants contain gibberlins
 About 125 gibberlins have been isolated so far and named as GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4 etc
 Gibberlins have a gibbane ring skeleton in their structure GA1- C19H24O6, GA2- C19H26O6,
GA3- C19H22O6, GA4- C19H24O5

MECHANISM OF GIBBERLIN ACTION:-

Several possible modes of action have been suggested. Some of these are listed below

- Gibberlins induce auxin synthesis and consequently enhanced growth

- Gibberlins promote growth by increasing rate of hydrolysis of starch, fructose and other
polysaccharides into simple sugars
- Wall plasticity is increased by action of gibberlins
- These act at gene level, possibly activating certain genes by bringing about depression. This
leads to enhance m RNA synthesis and eventually enzymes.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF GIBBERLINS:-

1. dormancy and seed germination- gibberlins are known to break dormancy in seeds thus
hasten the process of germination. Dormancy in potato tubers is also broken by GA

2. root growth- generally GA inhibits root growth it has been reported in lettuce and cucumber,
radicle gets elongated due to GA action

3. bolting and flowering- development of elongated shoot is called bolting and induced by Gas in
dwarf plants and also induce flowering

4. cell division- GA is known to activate cell division in vascular cambium. The work of Lin and Loy
(1976) demonstrated that GA promotes cell division by stimulating cells in Gi phase to S phase.

5. male sterility- GA is known to induce male sterility in plants by suppressing growth of

androecium. spraying off GA in grapes to enter ‘S’ phase.

6. parthenocarpy :- GA treatment is known to induce parthenocarpy in apple, tomato,cucumber,

it is quite possible that suppression of male reproductive structures due to application of GA
might promote parthenocarpy

7. synthesis of amylase:- GA promotes synthesis of amylase in layer of cereals during

germination

8. substituting cold treatment:- GA substitutes cold requirement and induces flowering n

biennial in a single flower.

 Enhancement if seed germination by breaking dormancy

 Reversal of genetic dwarfism
 Exapansion of leaf areas in commercial crops
 Introducing male sterility and parthenocarpy
 Used in breweries
  Elongation of peduncle length in Thompson seedless grapes

3.CYTOKININS :-

are the plant hormones promoting cytokinins (cell division) in plants

 the term cytokinin was proposed by Sentham (1963)

 they are also called as phytokinins
 they are chemically kinins and purine derivatives and regarded as degraded products of
adenine (kinetin, Zeatin)
 there are 7 types of cytokinins:-

- 2ip(6 purine)

-2 ip A(6-ribofurans purine)

- cis-ribosylzeatin(6-4 hydroxyl-ribofuranosyl purine)

- zeatin(6-hydroxypurine)

- ms ribosylzeatin

- dihydrozeatin

- roots(sunflower), fruits(pear), endosperm(coconut) and embryo contain cytokinins

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF CYTOKININS:-

1. cell division :- most important effect of cytokinins, exogenous supply of cytokinin largely
enhances rate of cell division
2. cell enlargement: - reports of Scot & Liverman (1956) indicate the hormone causes
enlargement of cells in leaf disc and cotyledons
3. initiation of interfasicular cambium
4. marphogenesis:- evidences indicate cytokinins playing significant role in marphogenesis of
plant organs.
5. Dormancy:- cytokinins break dormancy(seeds) and promote seed germination
6. Reversal of apical dominance: - application of cytokinins is known to activate lateral bud
sprouting
7. Delay of senescence:- reported by richmand-lang effect wherein the hormone is known to
delay the events that occur ageing with leaves
8. Protein synthesis:- cytokinins enhances protein synthesis and nucleic acid metabolism
9. Flowering:- in some short day plants cytokinins induce flowering.
10. Cytokinis provide resistance to diseases and protection from high (49.50c) and low (-20oc)
temp

4. ETHYLENE:-

is a plant gas hormone , known since a long time ‘as a ripening hormone’. It is
produced in traces by almost all plant tissues

 It is regarded as volatile hormone as it is gas under ordinary temperature

 Denny discovered(1924) that ethylene gas was highly effective in in duce fruit ripening
 It is a gas (ch2=ch2) and synthesizes from amino acid methionine
  It is synthesized in ripening of fruits, flowers, leaves and roots

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF ETHYLENE:-

 Abscission:- ethylene promotes changes that occur before the abscission of leaves, flowers
and fruits. It promotes cellulase activity
 Flowering:- although generally it inhibits flowering in most plants in some pineapple,
ethylene is known to initiate flowering
 Activation of enzyme:- ethylene activates the action of certain enzymes like malic enzyme
and pyruvate decarboxylase
 Rooting:- ethylene induces rootings in cuttings
 Senescence:- it promotes yellowing of leaves
 Permeability:- it promotes permeability of tissues of fruits

5.ABSCISSIC ACID:-

is a naturally occurring growth inhibitor hormone playing a very important role

in dormancy of abscission

 It was discovered by Carns and Adicott

 It is also called as dormin and found abundantly in dormant seeds, chemically AA is a
sesquoterpene
 It is formed by photodegradation pf violaxnthin--xanthoxin -abscissic acid

MECHANSIM OF ACTION

-inhibition of RNA synthesis (transcription)

- inhibition of protein synthesis (translation )

-influence on root plasma membrane by making them more positively charged

PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OF ABA:-

1. Bud dormancy :- application of ABA to non dormant bud causes dormancy(betula, acer)
2. Senescence:- ABA performs same function has not yet been discovered
3. Stomatal closure:- it helps in closure of stomata under water stress condition , hence ABA is
called as stress hormone
4. Abscission:- ABA is responsible for abscission i.e fall of leaves, flowers, fruits.
5. Flowering:- ABA induces flowering during long dayson short day plants, fragaria.
6. Release of ethylene:- ABA influence release of ethylene
7. ABA inhibits the influence of GA and IAA

APPLICATIONS OF GROWTH HORMONES IN AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE:-

All the plant hormones are very much essential for the growth of plants. In addition to this due to
this ability to bring about rapid growth and changes, plant hormones are widely used in agriculture
and horticulture for increased productivity and good yield with resistances. Some of the other
important applications are as follows:-
 Auxins stimulate root development hence they are widely used during propagation and
applied to the cuttings to indicate root initials.
 Since auxins promote cell elongation and cell maturity , they are used to spray on young
plants.
 Application of growth hormones prevents early fruit drop
 2,4-D and are two type of herbicides auxin. At lower concentration bring aboyt
growth response and prevents herbicidal action at high concentration
 Application of gibberlins extensively on seedless grape varieties to increase size and quantitu
of fruit
 GA also helps increasing yield in sugarcane
 Ethephon a type of ethylene may be applied approximately 10 days before anticipated
harvest to reduce removal of fruit force to allow mechanical harvesting of crop without
injury.
 Ripening process in mature fruit can be accelerated by ethephon application (tomato)
 Stem lodging is one of the most serious problems in wheat, and ability to use N2 to increase
yield is limites by its adverse effect on stem growth hence chloride is used to
reduce stem height and increased diameter.