Plant Hormones: The Outlook for Their Application

The document from 1983 explored the use of plant hormones in agriculture, emphasizing their benefits in enhancing food production and their superiority over synthetic herbicides due to their natural metabolism by plants and effectiveness at low concentrations. It reviewed the applications of auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, and ethylene in practices such as rooting, flowering, delaying senescence, and fruit ripening. Despite their potential, the limited use of plant hormones was attributed to variable plant responses and insufficient knowledge of their mechanisms. The authors called for more research into their application, including seed treatment and regulation of tillering, to improve crop yields and expand cultivation ranges. The document also discussed the impact of hormones on grain yield, photosynthesis, drought resistance, disease recovery, sex determination, and plant breeding through tissue culture, suggesting that a deeper understanding of hormonal control could address challenges in plant breeding.