Effect of ethylene on tuber initiation in solanum tuberosum l. [30]

Abstract

RENEWED interest in the physiological effects of ethylene has resulted from the suggestion that this hydrocarbon is a plant growth regulator1. Ethylene is a natural plant product which effects several important growth processes, notably the inhibition of longitudinal expansion and the promotion of lateral expansion of cells. Tuber initiation in Solanum species involves a lateral expansion of cells in the sub-apical region of the stolon2, so we have investigated the extent to which tuberization can be influenced by ethylene. © 1969 Nature Publishing Group.