Use of plant hormones HT: Homeostasis and response: Biology: GCSE (9:1)

• Agriculture


  The art and science of farming involving cultivating soil and growing crops

  
• Horticulture


  The art or practice of garden cultivation and management

  
• Uses of auxins

  Herbicides, rooting powders, promoting growth in tissue culture

  
• Auxins in rooting powder


  Auxins in specific concentrations can promote the growth of the roots of plant cuttings

  
• Auxins in weedkiller


  Auxins in high concentrations can cause plants to grow too fast and use up energy stores and die

  
• Selective weedkiller


  Auxins can target specific plants by causing them to grow quicker and absorb substances such as weedkiller at a faster rate

  
• Negative impact of weedkiller

  Can significantly reduce biodiversity and impact food chains

  
• Tissue culture

  A plant divided into small cultures of cells that is incubated with plant hormones for the mass production of identical plant clones

  
• Plant cuttings


  A piece of a plant that is removed and dipped in rooting powder to produce a genetically identical plant clone

  
• Plant clones


  Genetically identical plants that can be quickly produced and have identical characteristics
• Applications of plant clones

  Can be used for plant species conservation, scientific research or for horticultural purposes

  
• Apical meristem


  The growth region in plant shoots and roots containing undifferentiated cells and is also the site of auxin production

  
• Gibberellins


  Plant hormones that are important in the initiation of seed germination

  
• Uses of gibberellins

  End seed dormancy by encouraging early germination, promote flowering, increase fruit size and produce seedless fruit

  
• Ethene

  Plant hormone that controls cell division and promotes ripening of fruits

  
• Uses of ethene


  Used in the food industry to control ripening of fruit during storage and transport by promoting or inhibiting ethene release