IBA

[Ross Koning]

At 5:45 PM -0400 6/15/98, James W. Perry wrote:
>Does anyone have any experience getting IBA into solution? We need a
>solution of 8000 ppm to root some softwood cuttings (yes, the
>recommendation *is* 8000 ppm). We tried dissolving a powder 99% IBA in 2.5
>M sodium hydroxide, but it appears very little has gone into solution.

Jim,

Does your solution have to be aqueous (you soak them for a
long time) or could it be alcoholic (you dip them briefly)?

If dip, I recommend dissolving in minimal acetone and then
bringing to volume with ethyl alcohol.  You just need to keep
a tight lid on your stock to avoid concentrating it further.

Plants can tolerate a fair amount of alcohol, particularly
woody cuttings, and the additional penetration is a bonus.
If they are to stand more than a few moments, though, I would
keep the alcohol below 30%.

I have, on occasion, boiled a solution of IBA to get complete
dissolution.  I have found very little loss of activity...I
would never do that to IAA as you would have huge losses.  I
recommend room temp to avoid recrystallization in storage, but
would use a brown bottle wrapped in foil to avoid photodeactivation.

ross

________________________________________________________________
Ross Koning                 | koning at ecsu.ctstateu.edu
Biology Department          | http://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/
Eastern CT State University | phone: 860-465-5327
Willimantic, CT 06226 USA   | fax: 860-465-4479
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