Abstract Detail

Teaching Section

Singh, Surat [1], Moses, Elgan [2], Mehroke, Jarnail [2], Singh, Santokh [2].

Plant hormones in Relation to Vegetative Growth and Seed and Pod Development in Green Beans.

Green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are one of the major food crops in the world. Plant hormones are vital in the coordinated regulation of plant growth and development. The objective this experiment was to determine the effects of auxin, naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), gibberellin (GA₃), cytokinin (6-benzylaminopurine or BAP) and mixtures of these hormones (GA+BAP, NAA+BAP and NAA+BAP+GA or “NBG”) on vegetative growth parameters (stem height growth, leaf number), reproductive growth parameters (pod length, pod weight, seed number), and biochemical parameters (chlorophyll levels, protein profiles, and carbohydrate content) in green bean plants over a span of short (1-3 weeks) and long terms (6 weeks). To test the efficacy of plant hormones, we applied these hormone treatments at either the pre-flowering stage or post-flowering stage of green plants. The results of our experiments showed that the pre-flowering treatment with GA alone or in combination with NAA and BAP induced the highest increase in stem height growth as well as the average number of leaves in both the short-term and long-term. Secondly, the combination of BAP plus NAA induced the highest chlorophyll levels in the short term. Thirdly, the pre-flowering application of BAP + NAA was the most effective treatment in increasing both the growth of pods and the average number of seeds per pod. However, when applied at the post-flowering stage, GA was the most effective hormone in enhancing the pod and seed growth. Fourthly, GA either alone or in combination with NAA and BAP treatments when applied at the pre-flowering stage enhanced the levels of three major storage proteins, phaseolin, legumin, and phytohemagglutinin in green bean seeds. We also found that BAP plus NAA substantially increased the starch levels in green bean seeds. Our results suggest that plant hormones play an important role in plant growth, seed and pod development in green bean plants. The role of plant hormones in regulating the plant growth and seed and pod development will be discussed.

1 - Burnaby South Secondary School, 5455 Rumble Street, Burnaby, BC, V5J 2B7, Canada
2 - University Of British Columbia, Botany, #3529-6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

Keywords:
plant growth
phytohormones
Seed Development
starch.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PTE004
Abstract ID:1182
Candidate for Awards:None