Plant Growth Regulators

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Introduction — The Challenge of PGR Research

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 1-3

3. Biosynthesis and Metabolism — More than Making and Breaking

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 4-33

4. Extraction, Identification and Quantification — The State of the Art

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 34-48

5. Hormones and the Concept of Sensitivity — A Rational Approach

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 49-67

6. Cellular Differentiation and Morphogenesis

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 68-79

7. Seed Development, Dormancy and Germination

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 80-92

8. Root and Shoot Development

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 93-113

9. Leaf, Flower and Fruit Development

   • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

   Pages 114-133

10. Receptors — Sites of Perception or Deception?

    • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

    Pages 134-150

11. Mechanisms of Action — Towards a Molecular Understanding

    • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

    Pages 151-163

12. Commercial Applications of PGRs — Thought for Food?

    • Jeremy A. Roberts, Richard Hooley

    Pages 164-174

13. Back Matter

    Pages 175-190

    PDF

What are plant growth regulators? In the title, and throughout the text, we have adopted this expression to describe a population of endogenous molecules and synthetic compounds of similar structure that are be­ lieved to play important roles in the regulation of plant differentiation and development. For many years, plant scientists have endeavoured to understand the nature and action of plant growth regulators and, as a result, an awesome quantity of written material now exists describing these chemicals and their effects. In this book we have aimed to distil this wealth of information into a more digestible form, and in particular we have focused our attention on a critical appraisal of the literature. The past few years have witnessed a change of emphasis in plant growth regulator research, which has been fuelled by powerful new techniques in molecular and cell biology. Today we can do more than just apply a plant growth regulator and quantify its effects; we have reached an exciting crossroads where plant scientists, molecular bio­ logists and chemists can pool their expertise and apply it to the out­ standing problems in this area. The combination of these three disciplines within the book is clear evidence of this. In keeping with a volume of this size, we have assumed that the reader has a sound knowledge of plant physiology and biochemistry. However, wherever possible, we have highlighted useful reviews which provide background information, along with recent publications that have contributed significantly to the literature.

• Calcium
• Expression
• biochemistry
• biology
• biosynthesis
• cell biology
• development
• gene expression
• growth
• metabolism
• plant
• plant growth
• plant physiology
• protein
• regulation

• Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Nottingham, UK

  Jeremy A. Roberts

• Long Ashton Research Station, Bristol, UK

  Richard Hooley

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