Functions of Hormones at the Organ Level of Organization

Abstract

This chapter is intended to provide an overview of the functions of the five major plant growth hormones in the intact plant: auxin (IAA), gibberellins (GA), cytokinins (K), ethylene, and abscisic acid (ABA). The effects of these hormones have been described in detail on numerous occasions over the last 10 years (see general references at the end of this chapter). This review utilizes these previous reviews as well as including a survey of the literature published between January 1977 and January 1980. The most recent and surely the most detailed treatment of the subject is to be found in Phytohormones and Related Compounds: A Comprehensive Treatise. D.S. Letham et al., Volumes 1 and 2, 1978. The intent of the present review is to provide a more general overview and to consider overall patterns of regulatory controls by hormones in the whole plant.