Effects of Indole-3-Acetic Acid on the Growth Parameters of &lt;i&gt;Citrullus lanatus&lt;/i&gt; (Thunberg) Matsum and Nakai

M.C Ogwu

doi:10.4314/mejs.v10i1.8

Abstract

Effects of Indole-3-Acid (IAA) on Citrullus lanatus plant height, leaf number, branching and flower production were studied in order to evaluate the optimum concentrations required for growth and development. Foliar application using five different concentrations [1, 5, 10, 20 and 0 ppm IAA] was conducted twice at two weeks interval. The results suggest that as IAA concentration increases, plant height decreases with an optimum concentration of 5 ppm IAA. Mean plant height was also significantly different. More so, optimum concentration for leaf production and branching varied with varietal difference. Results obtained for number of branching suggest that 1 ppm IAA is optimum for variety A and 10 ppm is optimum for varieties B, C and D. Although flower production was poor during the study, high flower production is recorded for plants in 20 ppm IAA at 6 weeks after planting for all the varieties. This work establishes the inducing effects of different IAA concentration, which may be exploited for the commercial production of C. lanatus.Keywords: Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), Indole-3-Acetic acid, Growth parameters, Leaf production, Plant Physiology.

Highlights

In an era driven by mass extinctions of organic life worsened by food scarcity, humanity can only seek for a sustainable solution and through efficient utilization of natural resources
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA) on the growth and development of C. lanatus varieties in order to determine the optimum concentration required for the growth and development
The effects of IAA on the plant height of Citrullus lanatus is presented in figure 1

Summary

Introduction

In an era driven by mass extinctions of organic life worsened by food scarcity, humanity can only seek for a sustainable solution and through efficient utilization of natural resources. In spite of these extinctions, human population growth is not commensurate with improvement in agricultural performance. According to Osawaru and Ogwu (2014a) watermelon is attracting the attention of researchers because of its potentials. The members are distributed in the tropical regions of the old and new world.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion