Document Type
Capstone Project
Publication Date
2024
College/Unit
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department/Program/Center
Biology
Abstract
Herbivory is a consistent and prevalent stressor that threatens plants. Gibberellin, a naturally occurring plant growth hormone, has been known to increase plant growth when under a physical stress such as herbivory. To investigate, we set up a two-factorial design with 60 Solanum lycopersicum plants and subjected 15 plants each to four treatment groups: reference/control, 65 mg gibberellin, wounding, and 65 mg gibberellin+wounding. We found that S. lycopersicum root-to-shoot ratio decreases with the addition of gibberellin under mechanical wounding stress. Additionally, chlorophyll fluorescence increases under any mechanical wounding, with and without gibberellin present. Our experiment allows us to conclude that the use of gibberellin under wounding stress will significantly affect the height, root-to-shoot ratio, and chlorophyll fluorescence in S. lycopersicum. This conclusion highlights the importance of considering further investigation and study of additional natural growth hormones as a defense against herbivory, rather than using a potentially toxic herbicide, and the impact that gibberellin could have in the agricultural industry.
Digital Commons Citation
Curtin, Tatum, "Positive Responses of Solanum lycopersicum Growth to Additions of Gibberellin in the Presence of Wounding Stress" (2024). Undergraduate Scholarship. 3.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/ugscholarship/3