paroxide and germination breaker

Rodger Whitlock totototo@telus.net
Mon, 12 Jan 2015 10:34:16 PST
On 11 Jan 2015, at 9:52, Peter Taggart wrote:

> I have been told that hormone rooting powder should be bought
> fresh, and is essentially GA.

You have been badly misinformed. Rooting powder contains an auxin (often indole-
acetic acid) that stimulates root development. Gibberelic acid (GA) is a 
different compound altogether. Wikipedia has articles on "auxin", "gibberelic 
acid", and "gibberellin" for those seeking further enlightenment.

Generally speaking (and very, very broadly) auxins promote root growth and 
gibberellins promote vegetative growth. This is a gross simplification, but may 
indicate why it's important not to confuse the two.

If you run into your "informant" again, Peter, do take the time to correct his 
or her misinformation.

I used to know a guy who bred hybrid tea roses as a hobby. He used GA to 
improve germination, but his first tries failed. He then carefully traced back 
through the literature to the original source of the recommended concentration 
and discovered that the recommended concentration in subsequent publications 
was ten times the original. When he reduced the concentration of GA 
accordingly, success followed. These plant hormones are very powerful and you 
must avoid overdoses.

Ordinary drugstore hydrogen peroxide (3%) is suitable for sterlization of seeds 
bearing diseases on the seed coat. Another friend repeatedly failed to 
germinate seeds of Linum flavum compactum, apparently due to some kind of 
fungus carried on the seedcoats. A short soak in hydrogen peroxide led to 
success. I do not know of hydrogen peroxide affects germination, but it 
apparently doesn't hurt it.

Incidentally and PS: Please, people, do not casually abbreviate chemical names 
like "hydrogen peroxide" to "peroxide". There are many different peroxides and 
only one of them is under discussion. Also be careful about spelling: it's 
peroxide, not paroxide. If you don't know how to spell a word, Google is your 
friend.


-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Z. 7-8, cool Mediterranean climate



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