Circular 690

Microcomputer

Cental Sdcie
library

JAN 30 1990

Iversty of Florida

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/ Unlmvity of Florida / John T. Woass, DOn
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Calculating Plant Rooting Hormone

Formulations with a Microcomputer

Dewayne L. Ingram and Thomas H. Yeager

y- Associate Professor and Assistant Professor

Ornamental Horticulture Department

IFAS, University of Florida ,

Copyright IFAS, University of Florida, 1985

The authors gratefully acknowledge Jason Goldman, student

programmer, for his assistance in writing ROOTHORM in

BASIC computer language.

U1N-111'7SITY OF FR:C I

Specific concentrations of rooting hormones are required for

optimum rooting of many difficult-to-propagate plants, and

formulating these concentrations involves cumbersome calculations

and conversions. ROOTHORM is an interactive computer program

written in BASIC that allows the user to input the desired

hormone concentration and final volume, calculates the

ingredients needed and recommends procedures for liquid or talc

formulation preparation. ROOTHORM has been written for use on

microcomputers to assist plant propagators with quick and

accurate calculations of plant rooting hormone formulations.

This program was designed to run on the following

microcomputers configurations:

IBM PC or compatible
64K RAM
single disk drive
monochrome display
DEC Pro 350
64K RAM
single'disk drive
monochrome display

ROOTING HORMONES

Auxins are hormones produced in plant shoot meristems that

stimulate root initiation and development. Auxins are

transported down the stems to the other plant parts. The

concentration of auxins in plant tissue at any one time differs

from plant to plant, and with tissue maturity, time of year, and

the growing environment. The primary auxin produced in the plant

is indoleacetic acid (IAA), but plant propagators generally use

more stable, synthetic auxin-type compounds that stimulate

rooting. Synthetic auxins can be added to the base of cuttings

to elevate the auxin concentration above some threshold level for

optimum rooting.

The two most common synthetic auxins are indolebutyric acid

(IBA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). These materials can be

obtained from nursery supply companies, chemical supply companies

or through advertisements in nursery trade magazines. Prepared

formulations are also available if the propagators do not wish to

make their own rooting preparation, but the concentrations

available will not be the optimum for all plants.

IBA and NAA are marketed as reagent grade white powders or

as potassium or sodium salts of these chemicals. The pure grade

of these chemicals is relatively insoluble in water and must be
I -
dissolved in alcohol before adding water. The lower

concentrations of these compounds (100 to 8,000 ppm) will remain

in solution at room temperature if the-solution is only 25

percent alcohol. With concentrations greater than this, the

solution must contain nearly 50 percent alcohol. This is

important because alcohol concentrations in liquid formulations

greater than 50 percent have been reported to injure the basal

end of some cuttings. NAA dissolves best in a few drops of

ammonium hydroxide which may be used if preparing a concentrated

solution of NAA.

Salts of IBA and NAA are soluble in water and little or no

alcohol is required. The salts are more expensive than pure

compounds and are less effective on a weight basis. The

potassium salt of IBA (K-IBA) is only 75 percent as active as the

pure compound, and the sodium salt of NAA (Na-NAA) is 90 percent

as effective as pure NAA. This means times the IBA potassium

salt is required than pure IBA, and 1.12 times the NAA sodium

salt is required than pure NAA. These factors have been taken

into consideration in the options and calculations provided in

ROOTHORM.

Auxin solutions can be stored for relatively long periods of

time if kept in a refrigerator at 4C to 7C (40F to 45F) and

not exposed to light. The activity of auxins and auxin-like

compounds is reduced by prolonged exposure to light. Amber

bottles or clear bottles wrapped completely with aluminum foil

are suitable containers. Solutions should be at room temperature

or higher before being used. This is necessary because the

rooting compounds may not be completely dissolved at lower

temperatures and the solution would be less effective.

Propagators may consider mixing the quantity of solution needed

for a day to eliminate refrigeration or the time necessary for

the solution to warm to room temperature before use.

EXAMPLE RUN #1

Turn on the computer and load the operating system (DOS for

IBM). Insert disk into disk drive and type ROOTHORM. The first

display provides an introductory screen and the user is given a

choice of viewing the credits and a brief abstract or initiating

the execution of the program. The following statement will

appear on the screen.

If you wish to view the credits and a brief description

of this program, simply type in the letter C and press RETURN. If

you want to start the program, just press .

After the credits and abstract have been viewed or skipped,

the user must respond to several questions. For this example

run, we wish to determine the ingredients for preparing 1500

milliters of a 12,000 ppm IBA solution to be used for "liquid"

treatment of cuttings. The first question appears as follows:

Do you wish to calculate a liquid formulation or a talc

formulation (Enter L for liquid formulation or T for talc

formulation)?

Enter the letter L and press to indicate a liquid

preparation is desired.

The user must then respond to the next question presented on

the screen relative to the specific rooting hormone to be used.

Select the rooting hormone you wish to use

Rooting Hormones

A: IBA (indolebutyric acid)

B: Potassium salt of IBA (K-IBA)

C: NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid)
D: Sodium salt of NAA (Na-NAA)

E: A combination of IBA and NAA

Input a letter from A to E?

For this example enter the letter A to indicate IBA and press

.

The user must next specify the concentration of the rooting

hormone selected in parts per million (ppm). The following

question will appear on the screen:

What concentration of IBA in ppm do you desire?

Enter 12000 and press in this example.

ROOTHORM allows for selection of various

for the components of the rooting hormone

correspond to the type of available measuring

options are presented as follows:

units of measure

preparation to

equipment. The

1 Units for Final Volume

A: milliliters

B: liters

C: quarts

0: pints

E: fluid ounces

Input a letter from A-E?

In this example the user would enter the letter A and press

to indicate the final volume will be measured in

milliters.

The following question will appear on the next screen

display:

Enter 1500 and press to indicate the final volume

desired in this example is 1500 milliters.

ROOTHORM now has all the information necessary to calculate

the amounts of individual components in the rooting hormone

preparation and the following response will be displayed on the

displayed on the screen for the example run:

To prepare 1500 milliliters of a 12000 ppm solution of

IBA, add 18 grams (or 0.6354 dry ounces) of reagent grade IBA

to 750 milliliters of ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol and

add deionized water up to a final volume of 1500 milliters.

Press to continue.

If the user is executing ROOTHORM on a microcomputer with a

printer, a copy of the calculated results can be filed and/or

given to the propagator. When executing ROOTHORM on the IBM-PC,

this is accomplished by turning on the printer and pressing the

shift key and the print screen (PrtSc) key simultaneously. IF

using the DECPro 350, simply press the PRINT SCREEN key.

The user will be given the option at this point of

terminating ROOTHORM or asking for another set of calculations.

The question will be displayed as follows:

Would you like to run another set of calculations (Y for yes or

or N for no) ?

Enter N and press and ROOTHORM will be terminated

and the last screen display will appear.

This concludes your session with ROOTHORM

Have a nice day!
A>

The prompt "A>" on the IBM or "-" on the DEC PRO 350

indicates the user has terminated ROOTHORM and has returned to

the operating system.

EXAMPLE RUN #2

When a formulation with a mixture of IBA and NAA is desired,

slightly different questions must be answered. In this example

the user wishes to prepare 6 pints of a liquid formulation of

7000 ppm K-IBA and 3000 ppm Na-NAA.

The user would first be presented with the question of type

of formulation desired.

Do you wish to calculate a liquid or talc formulation

(Enter L for liquid and T for talc formulation)?

Enter the letter L and press in this example to indicate a

liquid formulatin is desired.

The next screen would display the choices of hormones that

could be used in the calculations.

Select the rooting hormone you wish to use.

Rooting Hormones

A: IBA (indolebutyric acid)

B: Potassium salt of IBA (K-IBA)

C: NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid)

D: Sodium salt of NAA (Na-NAA)

E: A combination of IBA and NAA

Input a letter from A to E?

Press the letter E and to indicate that a combination of

IBA and NAA is desired.

The user must then respond to questions concerning the form
of IBA and NAA to be used.

Select which form of IBA to use

(1) K-IBA

(2) IBA

Enter either 1 or 2 as your choice?

The user would enter the number 1 and press to indicate

the potassium salt of IBA would be used. The next screen would

then present:

Select which form of NAA to use

(1) Na-NAA
(2) NAA
Enter either 1 or 2 as your choice?

The user would press 1 and the key to denote the sodium

of NAA should be used in the calculations.

The concentration of IBA and NAA desired must be entered in

response to the next two screen displays.

SWhat concentration of IBA in ppm do you desire?

The user would enter 7000 and press to denote 7000 ppm

of IBA is desired. The display would then present:

What concentration of NAA in ppm is desired?

and the user would enter 3000 and press in this example

to indicate the need for 3000 ppm of NAA in the final solution.

The user'can-ask for the calculations to be made and results

presented in a variety of units of measurement to comply

with the measuring equipment available. The following choices

are provided:

Units for Final Volume

A: milliliters

B: liters

C: quarts

D: pints

E: fluid ounces

Input a letter from A-E?

The user would press the letter D and in this example to

denote the final volume would be measured in pints.

The next question presented would be as follows:

The user would press the number 6 and to indicate 6

pints of the liquid formulation is desired.

ROOTHORM now has all the information necessary to perform

the calculations and the results of this example will be

presented:

To prepare a 6 pint solution of 7000 ppm IBA and 3000 ppm NAA,

take 26.4218 grams (or 0.9327 dry ounces) of potassium salt of

IBA and 9.5357 grams (or 0.3366'dry ounces) of sodium salt of

NAA and add deionized water up to a final volume of 6 pints.

Press to continue?

After pressing , the user is given the option of

performing another calculation or exiting ROOTHORM.

EXAMPLE RUN #3

When a talc formulation is desired, the user must provide

slightly different information for ROOTHORM to make the

calculations. In this example, 3000 grams of a 9,000 ppm IBA

talc preparation is required.

The first question is displayed on the screen as follows:

Do you wish to calculate a liquid formulation or a talc
formulation (Enter L for liquid formulation of T for talc
formulation)?

Enter the letter T and press .
The user must choose the hormone desired as in the other
examples by responding to the following question.

Select the rooting hormone you wish to use.
Rooting Hormones
A: IBA (indolebutyric acid)
B: Potassium salt of IBA (K-IBA)
C: NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid)
D: Sodium salt of NAA (Na-NAA)
E: A combination of IBA and NAA
Input a letter from A to E?

In this example the user would press the letter A and the
key.
The desired concentration of the hormone in a talc
formulation is given next.

What concentration of IBA in ppm do you desire?

The user in this example would enter 9000 and press .
The type of available measuring equipment differs among
propagators, therefore the user is given an option of using grams
or dry ounces. The question is displayed as follows:

D

f

Select the units for the final weight

G: grams

0: ounces

Enter your selection?

Enter the letter G in this example to indicate measurement of the

talc in grams and press .

The final weight must be provided next and the screen

display will present the question:

Enter 3000 and press to denote a 3000 gram preparation

is desired.

ROOTHORM now has -all the information necessary to calculate

the ingredients for the specified talc formulation of IBA. The

display will present the result as follows:

^" 'Nl----^-- "----^-- *^r iii.i-nir;-ii-iiii.rii^ni --M------------------I-----

27 gram IBA (0.95 dry ounces) + 2973 grams talc (104.79 dry

ounces) = 3000 grams of 0.9% (9000 ppm) IBA

a) Dissolve IBA in rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl).

b) Place talc in blender and pour in IBA alcohol mixture.

c) Rinse the IBA container with alcohol, pour in blender.

d) Add more alcohol if needed to make a thin, creamy mixture.

e) Blend on high speed for 4-5 minutes.

Press to continue?

The second screen of instructions will be displayed after

pressing .

f) Pour the mixture into a flat pan and rinse blender bowl with

alcohol

g) Place the mixture in a warm place so the alcohol evaporates.

h) Once dry, place in a mortar and grind with a pestle.

i) Place the mixture in a can twice the mixture volume and

shake for 10 to 20 minutes. (A paint can shaker works well)

Press to continue?

After the user presses , the option to continue with

another calculation will be presented as with the previous

examples.

CALCULATION METHODS

The potassium salt of IBA is 75% by weight IBA and the

sodium salt of NAA is 90% NAA. When the user selects the salt of

the hormone, the amount of chemical (GMH) to be added is

multiplied by 1.33 and 1.12 for IBA and NAA, respectively. The

calculated values are presented in the units selected by the

user, but the units are converted to metric units before being

calculated. The program uses standard unit conversion

calculations. A flow chart for the program is presented in the

appendix.

Liquid formulations

The user inputs the desired concentration in parts per

million (ppm) of the rooting compound (DPPM) and the final volume

(FV), and the computer program calculates the grams of hormone

(GMH) to be added as follows:

GMH=(DPPM/1000) (FV/1000)

FV in milliliters is used in the calculations then concentrated

to the units specified by the user. When the salt of IBA or

NAA are used, alcohol solutions are not required. However, a

25% alcohol solution is required to keep IBA or NAA

concentrations of less than 8,000 ppm in solution at root

temperature. Therefore, the amount of ethyl or isopropyl alcohol

(EOH) in which to dissolve the hormone can be calculated as

follows:
EOH = 0.25 x FV

When hormone concentrations greater than 8,000 ppm are being

prepared using the pure chemicals, a 50% alcohol solution is
f
required to keep the chemical in solution. In such cases the

amount of alcohol (EOH) in which to dissolve the chemical is

calculated as follows.
EOH = 0.5 x FY

Talc formulations

The user inputs the desired concentration (DPPM) and the

final weight (FW), and the computer program calculates the grams

of hormone (GMH) to be added as follows.

GMH = (DPPM/1000)*(FW/1000)

FW in grams is used in the calculations then converted to dry

ounces if the user has specified that unit of measurement.

The amount of talc to be used is calculated by subtracting

the weight of the hormone to be added from the desired final

weight. The rooting compound should be dissolved in ethyl or

isopropyl alcohol even if the salt of the rooting compound is

used. Alcohol is used in the mixing process and will evaporate

much faster than water.

Trade names are mentioned with the understanding that no

discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the

University of Florida is implied.

16

APPENDIX

18

TALC

LIQUID

Suppliers of IBA, NAA and their derivatives.

Address

Aldrich Chemical Co.

940 West Saint
Milwaukee, WI
414-273-3850

Paul Avenue
53233

Baker, J. T. Chemical Co.

ICN pharmaceuticals, Inc.
K & K Labs Division

Pfaltz and Bauer, Inc.

Sigma Chemical Co.

United States Biochemical
Corporation

222 Red School Lane
Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
201-859-5411

121 Express Street
Plainview, NY 11803
516-433-6262

375 Fairfield
Stamford, CT
203-357-8700

P.O. Box 14508
Saint Louis, M
800-325-3010

P.O. Box 22400
Cleveland, OH
800-321-9322

Avenue
06902

10 63178

44122

Trade names and suppliers are mentioned with the understanding
that no discrimation is intended and no endorsement by the
Florida Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

Suoolier

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