Influences of the new auxins 4-carbomethoxyvinylenephenyl indole-3-butyrate and 2, 4-dichlorophenyl indole-3-butyrate on adventitious root formation
Tests were conducted with cuttings of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Top Crop) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) seedlings to determine the influences of the new auxins 4-carbomethoxyvinylenephenyl indole-3-butyrate (CMVP-IBA) and 2,4-dichlorophenyl indole-3-butyrate (DCP-IBA) on adventitious rooting. For comparison, bean cuttings were used to determine the effects on adventitious rooting of the unsubstituted phenyl ester of IBA, phenyl indole-3-butyrate (P-IBA). Results indicated that, compared with IBA, treatment with CMVP-IBA resulted in less adventitious rooting of jack pine and bean cuttings, treatment with DCP-IBA resulted in equal adventitious rooting of jack pine and bean cuttings, and treatment with P-IBA resulted in greater rooting of bean cuttings (jack pine was not tested). Based on results of the present and previous research, the phenyl esters of indole auxins have equal or greater root-inducing activity, compared with the parent auxin, only if their phenolic moieties do not contain a substituent (e.g., P-IBA) or contain only a simple substituent such as -OH (e.g., 3-hydroxyphenyl indole-3-acetate) or -Cl (e.g., DCP-IBA), rather than a more complex substituent like -CH=CH—COOCH3 (e.g., CMVP-IBA). However, further research is needed to test the accuracy of these generalizations.