Re: Verticillium treatment (was SOS wisteria)

Hi,
I am 95% certain that gibberellic acid and all the other related gibberellins are not found in urine. They are made by plants, bacteria and fungi (originally identified in the fungus Gibberella), but not by animals. However, perhaps urine, as a rich nitrogen source, encourages the growth of soil fungi + bacteria which in turn produce and release gibberellins? Healthy urine is usually acidic and perhaps the germination effect is due to the acid weakening the seedcoat?
Gibberellic acid released by pathogenic fungi aids infection of the plant (? how the tomatoes were killed).
The well-known plant hormone, indole acetic acid (IAA) does occur in urine, often at high levels in sick people (..if I remember correctly in some types of cancer).
I found that urine was excellent on the compost heap...but then I got married and my wife was less than enthusiastic about this form of recycling - and she certainly is not going to let me experiment with our parsley! 

Ciao
BrianO
----- Original Message ----- From: <listproc@ucdavis.edu> 
To: <dwburger@ucdavis.edu>; <sean@gimcw.org>; <voltaire@islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 8:15 AM
Subject: RE: Verticillium treatment (was SOS wisteria)



A female herb grower swears by urine to make her parsley germinate, I
(and probably my customers) am glad that I have never found this
necessary. It has made me wonder though whether it contains constituents
similar to those found in the growth and germination promoter,
gibberllic acid. Since gibberellin is more or less unobtainable on this
side of the Atlantic, I am thinking that this thread may have indirectly
introduced growers of non-food crops to a new practical aid

Anthony
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