Improving Crop Yields by the Application of an Auxin Precursor L-tryptophan

Different field and pot trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of an auxin precursor, L-tryptophan on the growth and yield of rice, wheat, soybean, potato and tomato.Rice (cv.Basmati-385) seedlings treated with 10G 2 -10G 5 M and 10G 1 -10G 5 M L-TRP by dipping seedling roots in respective solutions for one hour gave maximum paddy yield and number of panicles per hill at 10G 5 M, 10G 2 M and 10G 1 M L-TRP levels in different field trials.L-Tryptophan (10G 4 M) significantly enhanced grain yield and 1000-grain weight of wheat (cv.Inqlab) in a field trial.Total biomass and grain yield in case of soybean (cv.William) were found maximum with 10G 2 M L-TRP, fresh weight of tubers and yield of potato (cv.CEB 819-17) were observed at the highest value with 10G 5 M L-TRP and number of fruits per plant and yield of tomato (cv.366-87 Pakit) were at peak when treated at 10G 4 M L-TRP in pot trials.In nutshell, L-tryptophan application to different crops significantly increased all the yield components.The data collected from different crops was subjected to Dunnett's test.