Effect of Phosphorus Nutrition and Cytokinins on Flowering in the Tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill

Abstract

Ten days of phosphorus deficiency results in a decrease in the number of flowers that develop on the first truss of tomato plants. This effect on flower number is accompanied by a decrease in the cytokinin activity of the root exudate. The involvement of cytokinins in flower development is further implicated by the fact that application of kinetin to the growing medium increased the number of flowers produced by the seedlings. Preliminary identification of cytokinins in root exudate has revealed the presence of compounds that cochromatograph with zeatin and zeatin riboside on Sephadex LH20.