EFFECTS OF KINETIN FORMULATIONS ON ALLELOCHEMICALS AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF COTTON

Twelve candidate plant growth regulator formulations were applied twice at two levels to fruiting cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Leaves and squares were collected for analysis of allelochemicals (gossypol, tannin, anthocyanin, flavonoids) at 3 and 5 weeks after the first treatment. The plots were machine harvested one time to determine yield. Seeds were delinted and analyzed for agronomic traits and gossypol. Leaf gossypol and square gossypol were the categories most frequently increased by the bioregulators. Kinetin, and kinetin plus CaCl2 or Na2SeO3, and mepiquat chloride (PIX) alone or with a commercial cytokinin preparation (Foliar Triggrr) all increased gossypol and one or more of the other allelochemicals significantly. A sugar-amino acid fraction isolated from Foliar Triggrr increased cotton yield by 26% when applied as a foliar dressing at 2.88 mol/ha, as well as increasing gossypol. These results suggest that plants under stress may respond positively to nutrient foliar applications, giving both increased allelochemicals and improved yield.