Responses of Nigella sativa to foliar application of gibberellic acid and kinetin

Abstract

Foliar sprays of water or 1, 10 and 100 μM aqueous solutions of gibberellic acid (GA3) or kinetin (KIN) were applied to 40-d-old plants of Nigella sativa (L.) to study their effects on net photosynthetic rate, nitrogen metabolism, and the seed yield. 10 μM solutions of both the hormones, especially GA3, appreciably increased the activities of nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase, chlorophyll and total protein contents and net photosynthetic rate in the leaves, along with capsule number and seed yield plant-1, at harvest. © 2007 Institute of Experimental Botany, ASCR.