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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Monday, March 23, 2015
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Matt D.
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Connecticut
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Entry 9 of 92 |
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Increasing Fruit Sizes by Increasing Cell Division- “Anthesis”
This is something I have been working on researching for multiple years but I think I finally have something that I can offer to growers to experiment with. The small tubes contain plant hormones that should help increase the duration and frequency of cell division in a pumpkin or tomato. (If you are looking at the vials and do not see anything in them that is because in this picture they are empty;-)
It is the duration of cell division that has a great impact on final cell number and also overall mass. An interesting fact I came across in my research is that cells can increase their size up to 11,000 fold of their initial volume!
I came up with the name “Anthesis” (which is defined as the period when a flower is fully open and functional) for my plant hormone combo spray simply so growers can have something to refer to and it needs to be applied 48-hr post pollination.
I want to thank all of the growers that have had an interest in this and are willing to give it a trial run this year. I have a slide show about it posted on the Team-Pumpkin.org website (Presentation section) and have answered many questions about what I have been working on. I wanted to post a picture of just how small the containers are as you can see the penny for size comparison. Researching and working on the microscopic scale (cell signaling) can potentially have macroscopic results. Thinking small could be the next BIG thing.
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