Effect of Kerosene on Movement of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid and some Derivatives Through Destarched Bean Plants in Darkness

Abstract

1. Stringless Greenpod bean plants were destarched and treated in the dark in a well-ventilated hood by applying 0.05 ml. of kerosene containing a chosen amount of the 2,4-D acid, its butyl ester, or its polypropylene butyl ether ester to one primary leaf. Control plants were treated similarly with kerosene only. In each case the solution was applied inside an aluminum ring sealed to the leaf with agar to prevent movement of the kerosene on the surface of the blade or petiole. 2. Curvatures of the stems were measured 24 hours after application of the 2,4-D in some cases, and the treated leaves were removed at this time. Such plants were placed in a well-lighted greenhouse room for 10-13 days, at the end of which time the weight of the trifoliolate leaves from each plant was determined. 3. Treatment with any of the growth-regulators mentioned above usually resulted in stem curvature and in inhibition in subsequent growth of trifoliolate leaf blades, indicating that the growth substances were moving through...