HYB: balloons and seedless fruit

In wandering through a grocery store I see "seedless watermelons," and
"seedless grapes."  I know from first hand experience that such hormones as
naphthalene acetic acid, indole acetic acid, giberellins and such compounds
have dramatic effects on plant growth and fruit formation, self-thinning of
fruit, blossom drop and such phenomena.  Plant growth is regulated by such
compounds.  Roottone, for example, is a much dilute (about 3 parts per
million, I think) compound of naphthalene acetic acid ("NAA.")  Few of us have
not used this product to root cuttings.  To do so, we are artificially
applying one of the natural plant growth regulating hormones, this one
responsible for the stretching or lengthening of newly developing cells--along
with other effects.  NAA gradients in a branch also help determine whether a
new bud (apical meristem) becomes a flower-producing or vegetative sprout.

The reason Agent Orange works is that some of its components, for example
2-4-5 T, are chlorinated derivitives of some of these hormones and act as
false substitutes for the natural, controlled hormone causing crazed and fatal
growth to the plant parts. 2-4 D is the same sort of  chlorinated false
hormone.

Some of these hormones, both natural and human-derived, define and/or prevent
fruit set, regardless of pollenization.  The process of pollenization itself
triggers the production of hormones that determine the fruit (pod)
development, but pollenization alone is not the only possible source of the
hormones.  They can be applied artificially (and are), or they can develop
naturally from some other stimulus that produces the hormone that
pollenization would have had it occurred.

Neil Mogensen  zone 7 western NC

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