Search and Access Archived Conference Presentations

The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

11818:
Homobrassinolide and Nitrogen Effects on Papaya Seedlings

Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Grand Ballroom
J. Pablo Morales-Payan, Professor, Department of Crops and Agro-Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus, Mayaguez, PR
Experiments were conducted in Mayagüez to study the effects of seed treatment with aqueous solutions of homobrassinolide (HBR) and nitrogen rates on the chlorophyll concentration, shoot growth, and abundance of aphids in papaya seedlings. ‘Tainung 1’ papaya seedlings were grown in nursery following standard practices, except for application of HBR (0 to 10 parts per million) and varying nitrogen rates. Increasing HBR and nitrogen rates resulted in increased chlorophyll concentration, enhanced shoot height, and increased shoot dry weight accumulation. Additionally, aphids were less abundant in seedlings exposed to HBR. Papaya transplants treated with HBR and receiving high nitrogen rates were ready to be transplanted to orchards sooner than transplants grown receiving lower nitrogen rates and without exposure to HBR.