Commercial uses of plant hormones

• what are the commercial applications of auxin?

  • hormone rooting powder
  • micropropagation
  • hormone weedkillers
• what are commercial applications of gibberellins?

  • delay fruits ripening
  • brewing - get seeds to break down starch to glucose for aerobic respiration
• what are commercial applications of cytokinins?

  • prevent ageing of ripened fruit
  • micropropagation to control tissue development
• what are commercial applications of ethene?

  • control fruit ripening
  • promote fruit dropping
• what is a climacteric fruit?

  • fruits that continue to ripen after they have been harvested e.g. bananas, tomatoes, avocados
• how does ethene cause fruit ripening?

  • triggers series of chemical reactions including greatly increased respiratory rate
• what is micropropagation?

  • when thousands of new plants are grown from a few cells of original plant