Foliar application of phytohormones enhances growth of maize and soybean seedlings

Abstract

Phytohormones such as gibberellins, auxins and cytokinins are plant growth promoting factors which addedto foliar fertilizers can modulate plant growth and development of agricultural species. This work was performed to study the effects of exogenously applied phytohormones both alone and in mixtures, on a legume anda cereal growing in chambers with controlled conditions of humidity, temperature and light/dark cycle. It wasfound that application of phytohormones resulted in a considerable increase in growth of soybean and maizeplants. The mixture of phytohormones formulated with the lowest concentration of each required to enhanceplant growth, allowed a significant improvement on several growth parameters involved in productivity. Thus, the addition of this mixture to commercial products as foliar fertilizers may render potential improvement oflegume and cereal yields.