4 Commercial Uses of Gibberellins | Plants

The following points highlight the four commercial uses of gibberellins. The commercial uses are: 1. Malting of Barley 2. Increasing Sugarcane Yield 3. Fruit Production and 4. Seed Production.

Commercial Use # 1. Malting of Barley:

Gibberellins are sometimes used to increase the amount of a -amylase in germinating bar­ley (Hordeum vulgare) which is used in production of malt for brewing industry.

Commercial Use # 2. Increasing Sugarcane Yield:

In sugarcane, the cane sugar (sucrose) is stored in parenchyma cells of internodes. Gibber­ellins stimulate elongation of internodes. Spraying the sugarcane crop with gibberellins mark­edly increases sugarcane growth and sugar yields.

Commercial Use # 3. Fruit Production:

Seedless and large sized grapes are produced on commercial scale by gibberellin treat­ment. Gibberellins cause stalks of grapes to increase considerably, so that there is more space for grapes to enlarge in the grape bunches. A mixture of the cytokinin benzyl adenine and GA₄ + GA₇ (the preparation being called as promalin) is very effective in stimulating apple fruits to increase in size especially in red Delicious-type apples.

Gibberellins have also been sprayed on some citrus fruit trees (such as naval-orange) at a time when the fruits have lost most of their green colour, to prevent many post-harvest rind (fruit coat) disorders which appear during storage. Hence, gibberellins delay senescence and maintain firmer rinds of the fruits.

Commercial Use # 4. Seed Production:

A mixture of GA₄ and GA₇ is used to enhance seed production in conifers. In some biennial vegetables such as beet and cabbage, gibberellin treatment stimulates bolting and thus time for seed production can be considerably reduced.