Safety of isopropyl alcohol as a carrier in auxin solutions for application to stem cuttings

• Main Author: Ray, James Timothy
• Other Authors: Eugene K. Blythe
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: MSSTATE 2017
• Subjects: Plant and Soil Sciences
• Online Access: http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-03132017-140220/

<p>In response to commercial propagators inquiries regarding potential phytotoxicity of alcohol used in root-promoting solutions for cutting propagation, three experiments were conducted using stem cuttings of seven herbaceous and woody plant taxa. Solutions were prepared with three rates of isopropyl alcohol (0%, 25%, or 50%) in combination with three rates of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA): 0, 1000, or 2000 ppm (Expt. 1); 0, 100, and 200 ppm (Expt. 2); or a mixture of IBA and 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA): 0+0, 500+250, or 1000+500 ppm IBA+NAA, respectively (Expt. 3) and applied to cuttings using the basal quick-dip method (Expts. 1 and 3) or total immersion method (Expt. 2). No stem or leaf burn occurred using the basal quick-dip method (except for lantana), whereas foliar and stem burn occurred on cuttings of African wormwood, lantana, and garden geranium using the total immersion method with solutions containing alcohol (regardless of IBA rate). </p>