Evaluation of the Effects of the Different Plant Growth Hormone Fractions from Coconut Water as Growth Promoters

Abstract

An increase in the international market demand of coconuts poses a threat to the country's bodies of water since the surplus product which is coconut water, is thrown into rivers further increasing the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD). In an attempt to lessen this effect, coconut water was instead used as a plant growth enhancer to enhance the growth of ornamental plants and the yield as well in agricultural crops since coconuts are known to contain the plant growth hormone, cytokinin. In this study, the effects on shoot growth, root proliferation and number of leaves of the different fractions of coconut water growth hormones from coconut water extracts were evaluated using stem cultures of Musa sp. The first part tested the effects of the following treatments on stem cultures of Musa sp,: MS w/o BAP (negative control), MS + BAP (positive control), MS + water extract, MS + alcohol extract and MS + Cocogro. Ultraviolet spectral analysis was done on the coconut water extracts thereafter to detect the plant hormones present in them. Significant increase in shoot height was exhibited by coconut water extracts over the positive control, MS + BAP, and the negative control, MS w/o BAP. Though there were no significant differences among the coconut extracts in shoot growth and in the number of leaves, a significant difference occurred in the number of roots as stem cultures in MS + water extract obtained a mean value of 9.9000. The lowest were MS + BAP and MS + alcohol extract with mean values of 1.8000 and 1.5000, respectively. Ultraviolet spectral analyses of the three coconut extracts showed that they were a concoction of different plant growth hormones. The peaks matched certain plant hormones while the broad peaks indicated an overlap of different plant hormones detected resulting to various effects observed in the Musa sp. stem culture. Though the amount of the plant hormones found in the coconut water extracts cannot be quantified due to the fastidious process the extracts underwent, the tests conducted were sufficient to suggest the effect of the coconut water extracts in promoting growth in stem cultures Qi Musa sp.