At 8:32 AM 9/10/96 -0700, Carl Pike wrote:
>Does anyone have any suggestions on how to apply auxin in a class lab on
>apical dominance (peas)? We use the standard method of mixing the auxin
>(ethanol solution) in hot lanolin. How stable is auxin in lanolin? I
>worry about loss of hormone in the heated lanolin, and the inability to be
>sure a consistent amount has been applied to the stumps. Does it help to
>recut the stump after a few days and make a fresh application? Is there
>some way to apply the auxin in liquid form?
>> Any comments would be appreciated.
>>Carl S. Pike (717) 291-3958
>Department of Biology FAX (717) 399-4548
>Franklin and Marshall College Internet C_PIKE at ACAD.FANDM.EDU>P.O. Box 3003
>Lancaster, PA 17604-3003 USA
Ross Koning's comments will have answered many people's questions about
this class experiment, but not the following: are there any tree species
with which it has been shown to be successful?
Earlier this year, I taught a Plant Physiology course for the first time.
The class was 2nd-year Forestry undergraduates, and the practical component
included an apical dominance experiment very similar to the standard one
described, and using NAA in lanolin. However, rather than peas or beans,
because the students will become foresters the plant material chosen was
young (60 cm high) Eucalyptus camaldulensis (red gum), detopped, the cut
surface treated with lanolin +/- NAA, and grown on for a further 6 weeks in
a greenhouse. The experiment failed primarily because the control young
trees failed to send out sufficient sideshoots in this time.
We will be changing the eucalypt species and some other experimental
parameters next year, but does anyone have experience with a similar
experiment working for any other tree species?
Dr. Steve Read
School of Forestry, University of Melbourne
Creswick, Victoria 3363, Australia
phone: (+61) 53 214177, fax: (+61) 53 214194
email: read at forestry.unimelb.edu.au or: read at botany.unimelb.edu.au
