Exposure of Seed to Ethylene During Germination Produces Larger Plants

[deluxestogie]

This is a rather unexpected phenomenon. When seeds (of various species of plants) were exposed to ethylene gas during germination, the plants subsequently grew larger than those whose seeds were not exposed. The study concluded that the plants from the ethylene-exposed seeds were taking in more CO2, and increasing their photosynthetic rate.

Exposing plants to an unusual chemical early on may bolster their growth and help feed the world

Just like any other organism, plants can get stressed. Usually it's conditions like heat and drought that lead to this stress, and when they're stressed, plants might not grow as large or produce as much. This can be a problem for farmers, so many scientists have tried genetically modifying...

phys.org

I have not tried this (e.g. placing a banana peel onto the germinating seeds in a covered cup).

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

From UCSD (whatever that is).

 

[deluxestogie]

UCSD

University of California - San Diego

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

From https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sour...cQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2AJ2gFBooGbg8lA3m_kE7a

 

[Havok]

Can I get my leaves to yellow faster if I dump a bunch of apples and avocados in the garden in August?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Can I get my leaves to yellow faster if I dump a bunch of apples and avocados in the garden in August?

Or even better, good for nothing crabapples.

 

[deluxestogie]

crabapples

Crabapples make excellent jam.

EDIT:

Can I get my leaves to yellow faster if I dump a bunch of apples and avocados in the garden in August?

I have apple and pear trees. Tobacco plants closer to these trees did not yellow faster than those farther away. Of course, on a proper schedule, the tobacco is already ripening before the fruit trees ripen their fruit and begin to drop it.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Crabapples make excellent jam.

I didn't know that. What kind of jam do you make?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Sorry, Bob.
Had to.

 

[smallwanderings]

A rather technical article on ethylene and how it effects plants:

Q&A: How do plants respond to ethylene and what is its importance? - BMC Biology

Ethylene gas is a major plant hormone that influences diverse processes in plant growth, development and stress responses throughout the plant life cycle. Responses to ethylene, such as fruit ripening, are significant to agriculture. The core molecular elements of the ethylene-signaling pathway...

bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com

 

[larryccf]

there was an article in the DailyMail UK about bananas increasing plant growth - it described taking banana peels and letting them soak in a mason jar full of water for 3-4 days and then watering the plants, that it seemed to promote explosive leaf growth.

so i tried it on a dying mountain laurel bush i'd transplanted almost 30 yrs ago from some mountain property i owned up near Walton's Mountain (for those that remember that TV show). I had one laurel bush that appeared to be dying, it was pretty bare of leaves, maybe 4 or 5 dull green leaves with some brown spots. This shrub or bush had a trunk that was approx 1.5" at it's base, and was about 30 inches tall, and like i said, just a few leaves.

I let the banana peels marinate in the water for about 4 days and then poured it around the bush, maybe 12-14" from the trunk. About 3 days later there was an explosion of new leaf clusters, maybe six with 2-4 leaves each, bright green and surprisingly large for the short time they'd had to grow. Mountain laurels are extremely slow in growing, kind like the botanical version of watching paint dry on a high humidity day.

The DailyMail article didn't mention anything about ethylene gas, but indicated the peels were high in potassium, calcium and phosphorous, but it indicated, iirc, potassium helped promote the root system growth as well more efficiently absorb nutrients from the soil.

i'll search for the article and see if i can pull it up.

found it (along with what must be 10,000 other hits on banana peels promoting plant growth

REVEALED: How you can bring dying plants back to life in hours with water and old banana peel​

REVEALED: How to bring dying plants back to life in hours with banana

A mother has revealed how banana peel is the secret to reviving a dying plant in just hours. The Australian woman said you can give your indoor plants a quick 'boost' by using banana skins.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[deluxestogie]

Mountain Laurel requires relatively acid soil, just like blueberries. You might check your soil pH. Soil is usually acidified with the application of sulfur.

Bob

 

[larryccf]

the soil is acidic, and the bush is under a canopy of pine trees, same as they all were up in the mountains. It's only been the one bush that looked like it was on death's doorstep - other's are fine / healthy.

here are two shots of the subject bush 1 yr since the banana peel treatment,
and a couple of shots of mountain laurel blossoms - which is why i chose to transplant some. They first blossom like grapes in a cluster of geodesic dome shaped lanterns, and a few days later open fully as in the 2nd shot. But the blossoms only last for 7 to 10 days - that may be due to the high terms here, as it's much hotter here than in the mountain property.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

there was an article in the DailyMail UK about bananas increasing plant growth - it described taking banana peels and letting them soak in a mason jar full of water for 3-4 days and then watering the plants, that it seemed to promote explosive leaf growth.

so i tried it on a dying mountain laurel bush i'd transplanted almost 30 yrs ago from some mountain property i owned up near Walton's Mountain (for those that remember that TV show). I had one laurel bush that appeared to be dying, it was pretty bare of leaves, maybe 4 or 5 dull green leaves with some brown spots. This shrub or bush had a trunk that was approx 1.5" at it's base, and was about 30 inches tall, and like i said, just a few leaves.

I let the banana peels marinate in the water for about 4 days and then poured it around the bush, maybe 12-14" from the trunk. About 3 days later there was an explosion of new leaf clusters, maybe six with 2-4 leaves each, bright green and surprisingly large for the short time they'd had to grow. Mountain laurels are extremely slow in growing, kind like the botanical version of watching paint dry on a high humidity day.

The DailyMail article didn't mention anything about ethylene gas, but indicated the peels were high in potassium, calcium and phosphorous, but it indicated, iirc, potassium helped promote the root system growth as well more efficiently absorb nutrients from the soil.

i'll search for the article and see if i can pull it up.

found it (along with what must be 10,000 other hits on banana peels promoting plant growth

REVEALED: How you can bring dying plants back to life in hours with water and old banana peel​

REVEALED: How to bring dying plants back to life in hours with banana

A mother has revealed how banana peel is the secret to reviving a dying plant in just hours. The Australian woman said you can give your indoor plants a quick 'boost' by using banana skins.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I'm going to try this with one tray of oregano and one tray of basil. They are mature plants I have inside under grow lights. If it's only the gas, I may not notice a {EDIT:} difference between the trays because of the enclosure. If it's only or mostly the solution, then the growth should be different.

A guy could go crazy and do banana water, apple water, cucumber water, and potato water.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

the soil is acidic, and the bush is under a canopy of pine trees, same as they all were up in the mountains. It's only been the one bush that looked like it was on death's doorstep - other's are fine / healthy.

here are two shots of the subject bush 1 yr since the banana peel treatment,
and a couple of shots of mountain laurel blossoms - which is why i chose to transplant some. They first blossom like grapes in a cluster of geodesic dome shaped lanterns, and a few days later open fully as in the 2nd shot. But the blossoms only last for 7 to 10 days - that may be due to the high terms here, as it's much hotter here than in the mountain property.


View attachment 48951

View attachment 48950

View attachment 48952

View attachment 48953

Looks similar to Sambucus sp.

 

[larryccf]

"I'm going to try this with one tray of oregano and one tray of basil. They are mature plants I have inside under grow lights. If it's only the gas, I may not notice a {EDIT:} difference between the trays because of the enclosure. If it's only or mostly the solution, then the growth should be different."

do a google search on "banana peels promoting plant growth - you'll still be reading next week this time

 

[deluxestogie]

I've had azaleas as well as blueberries here. With all my underlying limestone, I never could keep the soil acidified enough. They are all gone now.

Banana Peels: A Waste Treasure for Human Being - PMC

In recent years, scientists' interest in agricultural waste has increased, and the waste has become attractive to explore and benefit from, rather than being neglected waste. Banana peels have attracted the attention of researchers due to their ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

That "high" peak for phosphorus represents a mere 0.2% of the mass of the peel, though the water content is not clear.

Besides the elemental analysis of banana peel, the vast assortment of more complex molecules pretty much guarantees that the specific answer to why it promotes growth will be a challenge to determine.

 

[cincydave]

Very interesting! If I remember, I may try this next spring when I start my vegetable and tobacco seeds. From reading the paper linked from Bobs link, it sounds like you need to introduce the ethylene during the first four days or so of germination in the dark. You then remove the ethylene and transition the plants to light. Sounds like putting a cut apple in a covered germination tray and covering with a couple towels for darkness would be pretty simple. Nothing to lose by trying I guess.