Plant growth regulators are not hormones.Plant growth regulators are considered synthetic analogs of various plant hormones.
Plant hormone
Plant hormones refer to naturally occurring substances within plants that have significant effects on their growth and development. These are also known as natural plant hormones or endogenous plant hormones. Their presence can influence and effectively regulate various aspects of plant growth and development, including cell growth and division, rooting, germination, flowering, fruiting, maturation, and senescence, covering the entire life cycle of the plant.
Plant Growth Regulator
Plant growth regulators, on the other hand, are substances that are synthesized artificially to mimic the physiological and biological effects of natural plant hormones. They are used in agricultural production to effectively regulate crop growth processes, aiming to achieve stable and increased yields, improve quality, and enhance crop resistance to stress. Plant growth regulators include both artificially synthesized chemicals that regulate plant growth and development, and natural plant hormones extracted from biological sources. They are collectively known as plant growth regulators.
Advantages of plant growth regulators
- Wide Range of Applications and Uses: Plant growth regulators can be applied to almost all types of higher and lower plants in agriculture, such as field crops, vegetables, fruit trees, flowers, forest trees, kelp, seaweed, and edible fungi. They control plant growth and development by regulating physiological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, absorption and transport of substances, signal transduction, stomatal opening and closing, osmotic regulation, and transpiration. This helps to improve the interaction between plants and their environment, enhance crop resistance to stress, increase crop yield, improve the quality of agricultural products, and direct the expression of agronomic traits in crops according to human needs.
- Low Dosage, Fast Action, High Efficiency, and Minimal Residual Toxicity: Most crops only require a single application per season, applied at the specified time.
- Dual Regulation of External and Internal Plant Processes: Plant growth regulators can simultaneously control both the external traits and internal physiological processes of plants.
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High Specificity and Professionalism: They can solve problems that are difficult to address with other methods, such as producing seedless fruits, preventing wind damage, controlling plant architecture, promoting rooting of cuttings, fruit ripening and coloration, inhibiting axillary bud growth, and promoting the shedding of cotton leaves.
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Influence of Multiple Factors on Effectiveness: The effectiveness of plant growth regulators is influenced by many factors, making it difficult to achieve optimal results. Factors such as climatic conditions, application timing, dosage, application method, application site, and the absorption, transport, integration, and metabolism of the crop itself all impact their effectiveness.