Gibberellin

• Gibberellin is plant growth hormone that stimulates seed germination, stem growth and flowering
• Controlling dormancy:

  • lots of seeds won't germinate until they've been through certain conditions (e.g. a period of cold or of dryness) - this is called dormancy
  • seeds can be treated with gibberellin to alter dormancy and make them germinate at times of year that they wouldn't normally
  • it also helps make sure all the seeds in a batch germinate at the same time
• Inducing flowering:

  • some plants require certain conditions to flower, such as longer days or low temperatures
  • if these plants are treated with gibberellin, they will flower without any change in their environment
  • gibberellin can also be used to grow bigger flowers
• Growing larger fruit:

  • seedless varieties of fruit often do not grow as large as seeded fruit
  • if gibberellin is added to these fruit, they will grow larger to match the normal types