Vegetative and Reproductive Growth and Yield of Plukenetia volubilis Plants in Responses to Foliar Application of Plant Growth Regulators

Abstract

Plukenetia volubilis Linneo, a tropical recurrent woody oilseed plant native to South America, was successfully introduced in China. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of the dry-season foliar sprays once every 2 weeks with 50 μm water or five different plant growth regulators (PGRs) viz., gibberellic acid (GA3), kinetin (KIN), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA), and salicylic acid (SA) on the growth and yield of P. volubilis plants in Xishuangbanna, southwest China. Results showed that PGRs affected the leaf stomatal conductance (gS) and water-use efficiency (WUEi), rather than the net photosynthetic rate (PN). The phenological development of P. volubilis plants, including the time of flowering and maturity, and the dynamic pattern of fruit ripening, was not altered by PGR treatments. ABA and SA resulted in highest fruit set, seed oil content, and total fruit or seed oil yield, whereas GA3, IAA, and KIN were effective in increasing seed size. The nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) are related to subsequent abscission or retention of the developing fruit, which was indicated by the positive relationship between carbohydrate concentration and fruit set across PGR treatments. The positive influences of PGRs on the total fruit yield (increased 4.3% to 15.2%) and total seed oil yield (increased 4.9% to 24.9%) per unit area throughout a growing season were found when compared with the control, depending to a great extent on the balance between vegetative and reproductive growth during the reproductive stage. This study suggests that PGRs, especially for ABA and SA, can become a valuable tool for promoting the seed oil yield of P. volubilis plants while maintaining high seed quality in the field.