Question
Biology Question on plant growth and development
How does pruning help in making the hedge dense ?
It releases wound hormones
It includes differentiation of new shoots from the rootstock
It frees axillary buds from apical dominance
The apical shoot grows faster after pruning
It frees axillary buds from apical dominance
Solution
Prunning is the process of cutting shoot tips to promote lateral growth of branches. Removal of shoot tips involves removal of apical buds. In the shoot tips auxins are produced. Auxins are growth promoting phytohormones. They cause apical dominance by promoting the growth of apical buds and suppressing the growth of axillary buds. So when the auxins produced in the shoot tips are removed by decapitation it results in lateral growth and plants thus show bushy appearance. This is because of a relatively high concentration of auxin in the apical bud than in the lateral buds.