Angelina observes that her gardener cuts the tips of her ornamental plants at regular intervals of about 10–15 days. When she asks him why he does this, he tells her that this allows the tree to grow faster and bushier. How would you explain this scientifically? Cutting the tips of the plant increases the secretion of Abscisic acids, which are present in the apical meristems. This stimulates the growth of the axillary and lateral buds, causing the plant to branch out. Cutting the tips of the plant increases the secretion of Auxins, which are present in the apical meristems.This stimulates...
.the growth of the axillary and lateral buds, causing the plant to branch out.
C appears to be the best description. Auxins can be secreted by any cell, but the end buds are the greater producers. This excess auxin is transported into the branch and stops the production of auxins elsewhere. Therefore, the plant normally grows from the end buds (normal natural growth). Cutting the tip stops this excess auxin. The lateral buds (or auxiliary ones, the ones whose growth was stopped by the excess auxin coming from the tip) will then be allowed to resume normal growth (and produce their own auxins which now become the control). This information could be useful for someone trying to colonize a planet with Earth plants; therefore it could be the kind of thing seen in an astrobiology class...
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