GA-3


Gibberellic Acids are natural growth hormones in plants. They were discovered during the study of a disease affecting rice plants in Japan in 1926, but remained unknown to the West until the 1950's , due to the political situation after the 2nd World War. The disease called bakanae is caused by the fungus Fusarium moniliforme ( previously called Gibberella fujikuroi ). This fungus produces high concentrations of gibberellins in the plants, which causes them to elongate and make  the plants very thin and long.
 
Smaller concentrations of gibberellins occur in all plants. More than 60 different types are known, but GA-3  ( C19H22O6 ) is the one most widely studied. Commercially gibberellins are used to make seedless grapes, and to increase the concentration of sugar in sugar cane . It is used in the form of gibberellic acid ( white crystals ) produced with the help of Fusarium moniliforme.


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