Plants, Chemicals and Growth focuses on chemicals that regulate the growth and development of plants. It explores the problems of growth and growth regulation by looking at the roles of chemical substances, natural and synthetic, which affect the behavior of the cells of flowering plants. It also describes the variety of responses triggered by such chemicals, which include herbicides, those that stimulate the rooting of cuttings or cause leaf or fruit abscission, and those associated with fruit setting and artificial parthenocarpy. Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of examples of chemical regulators and the biological responses they induce in plants, from tropism and chemotropism to nastic responses; rhythmic phenomena in growth and development; initiation of lateral organs and problems of phyllotaxy; periodicities in growth; and effects on the balance between vegetative growth, flowering, and fruiting. It discusses the totipotency and exogenous regulation of cells, history and modern concepts of plant growth regulators, the ways chemicals induce growth in quiescent cells, and growth-regulating effects in free cell systems. The reader is also introduced to biologically active compounds, such as indolyl and triazine compounds; how plant-regulating substances work; concepts and interpretations of plant growth regulation; and problems and prospects of chemical regulation of plant growth and development. This book will be of interest to teachers, biology students, agriculturalists, and researchers.

Plants, Chemicals and Growth investigates natural and synthetic chemicals that control plant growth and development. It examines how plant growth regulators, such as 2,4-D, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,4,5-T, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, ammonium sulfamate, indole-3-butyric acid, disodium 3,6-endoxohexahydrophthalate, gibberellic acid, and 2-chloroethyltrimethylammonium chloride, induce biological responses in plants. These responses range from tropism and chemotropism to growth of organs by cell division and enlargement, rhythmic phenomena in growth and development, initiation of lateral organs and problems of phyllotaxy, and the regulatory effects of light and temperature on growth and form. Comprised of 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of chemical regulators and the ways in which they elicit biological responses in plants; how chemical regulation of plants is related to the growth and development of flowering plants; cell growth and cell division; cell cycle; and cellular ontogeny. It then looks at the history and modern concepts of growth-regulating compounds, such as auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins. The book introduces readers to how chemicals induce growth in quiescent cells; natural sources of growth stimulatory substances; synergisms and interactions of growth regulatory systems; growth-regulating effects in free cell systems; examples of biologically active compounds; the mechanisms of action of plant growth regulators; concepts and interpretations of plant growth regulation; and prospects and problems associated with chemical regulation of plant growth and behavior. Teachers, biology students, agriculturalists, and researchers will find this book extremely useful.

In a convenient, single-source reference, this book examines plant growth substances and their relationship to a wide range of physiological processes, ranging from seed germination through the death of the plant. If offers a clear illustration of the pragmatic uses of plant substances in agriculture and demonstrates how basic laboratory research has translated into increased production and profit for the grower. This work begins by building a solid foundation in the subject, which contains historical aspects and fundamental concepts, and provides a methodology for extraction, purification, and quantification of plant growth substances. This forms the basis for understanding the ensuing chapters that explore the many processes involving plant growth substances, including: * seed germination * seedling growth * rooting * dormancy * juvenility * maturity * senescence * flowering * abscission * fruit set * fruit growth * fruit development * premature drop * ripening * promotion of fruit drop * tuberization * photsynthesis * weed control. Providing a detailed examination of plant growth substances and their relationships to specific physiological plant processes, Plant Growth Substances gives students, researchers, and professionals a much needed reference.

The purpose of this two-volume work is to make available both to the investigator and user, on a crop by crop basis, the latest information on the use of chemicals to regulate plant growth and development. Emphasis is given to the major crops and to those which the most success has been achieved.

Chemical Manipulation of Crop Growth and Development presents a critical review of the plant growth regulators in field crops. It discusses the strategies to discover plant growth regulators for agronomic crops; the methods of modifying stomatal movement; and the possible use of chemicals for photorespiration control. Some of the topics covered in the book are the hormonal control of photosynthesis and assimilate distribution; manipulation of crop growth by ethylene and some implications of the mode of generation; genetic and chemical manipulation of crops to confer tolerance to chemicals; and effects of allelochemicals on crop growth and development. The control of development of potato plant by using endogenous and exogenous growth regulators is covered. The analysis of crop physiology to assess plant growth regulation in sugar beet is also discussed. An in-depth analysis of the influence of auxin antagonists on pod and seed number is provided. The effect of foliar applications of synthetic plant growth regulators on the agronomic characteristics of field-growth corn is presented. A chapter is devoted to the use and effect of cerone in developing winter barley. The book can provide useful information to farmers, botanists, students, and researchers.