Gibberellins were first discovered in Japan when rice plants were suffering from bakane (the foolish seedling disease) caused by a fungus Gibberena fujikuroi.
(a) Give two functions of this phytohormone.
(b) Which property of gibberellin caused foolish seedling disease in rice?
Ans.
(a) Two functions of the Gibberellin phytohormone is that encourages the sprouting of the seed by disruption of seed dormancy. In rosette plants, gibberellin induces the development of internodes; it encourages the process of bolting.
(b) The surplus quantity of gibberellin produced by the fungus causes foolish seedling disease in rice. The surplus of gibberellin thus induces the plant's development and hasten the growth in internodes. This thus results in the plant growing too tall and being
unable to bear its own weight.