No abstract

Application of the bioregulator, 2-(3,4-dichlorophenoxy)triethylamine (DCPTA) to tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill . cv . Pixie) significantly increased the vegetative growth and fruit-yield productivities of mature plants . Compared with controls, application of 30 µM (10ppm) DCPTA as a pre-germination seed treatment increased the mean relative growth rates of leaves, stems, and roots, 37%, 16%, and 20%, respectively, during exponential growth . At fruit harvest, the dry weights of leaves, stems, and roots, and the harvestable yield of 30µM DCPTA-treated plants were doubled when compared with controls . Increases in both the total fruit number per plant and the size of individual fruits contributed to the improved yield of 30µM DCPTA-treated plants . The total soluble solids contents of mature fruits harvested from 30 µM DCPTA-treated plants were increased 24%, and the lycopene and beta-carotene contents were doubled as compared with controls . These results indicate that DCPTA treatment does not adversely affect the balanced partitioning of photoassimilate to vegetative and reproductive sinks in tomato .