Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plant growth
regulator composition, a method for improving crop
yields, and a method of promoting root formation and
root anchorage of paddy rice.
II. Description of the Prior Art
The immersion treatment of the seedlings of sweet
potato (I'm _ batatas)/ with choline salts solution has
been observed to improve crop yields (Special Bulletin
of the Chiba-Ken Agricultural Experiment Station, No. 3,
1973). Phosphorylcholine is used as a drug for treating
diseases of the liver/ but its use as a plant growth
regulator is not previously known.
Agricultural production can be characterized
biologically as the collection of solar energy on the
surface of the earth using the photosynthetic properties
ox green plants, and the supply of oxygen to the
atmosphere. However, this is not always an efficient
way to utilize solar energy. Taking a look at the world
food situation, it is predicted that the world's
population will approximately double by the end of the
century, and that it will be extremely difficult to
ensure the production of enough food to feed this
population increase.
A great deal of research has been devoted to coping
with this anticipated population increase. jet, most
Lo
R&D conducted with the aim of raising agricultural
productivity has consisted of little more than improve-
mints in production technology; very little effort has
been directed toward gaining a detailed understanding of
the functions inherent to plants and how these can be
enhanced. Plants generally make use of solar energy
through photosynthesis to synthesize carbohydrates from
water and carbon dioxide, and supply oxygen to the
atmosphere. They also carry out respiration, which
lo involves the absorption of atmospheric oxygen and the
release of carbon dioxide. There are two types of plant
respiration: photo respiration, which occurs during
exposure to light, and dark respiration, which occurs in
dark places. Photo respiration has been observed only in
C3 plants. Large amounts of carbon compounds are
consumed by photo respiration. In fact, it has been
reported that, in some types of plants, 50% of the
assimilated carbon compounds are broken down by
photo respiration. However, were it be possible to
selectively inhibit photo respiration without adversely
affecting other metabolic processes within the plant,
this would allow one to raise the productivity of crops.
Improvements in rice cultivation techniques have made it
possible to grow rice in cold regions. However, the low
temperatures sometimes prevent rice seedlings from
taking root.
In the course of research on stimulating the solar
6~;6
energy-fixing function of green plants, -the inventors
discovered that phosphorylcholine and its salts are able
to increase the efficiency of plant photosynthesis -to
promote crop yields. The present inventors further
discovered that the phosphoric choline, its salts, and
choline salt stimulate root formation and anchoring of
rice seedlings. The present invention is based on the
discoveries.
Siam__ of the_Inventio_
One object of the present invention is to provide a
plant growth regulator composition by which crop yields,
the root formation and root anchoring in rice seedlings
can be promoted.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide a method of increasing crop yields and a method
for regulating the growth of plants, such as promoting
root formation and anchoring in rice seedlings.
The present invention provides a plant growth
regulator composition comprising an effective amount of
phosphorylcholine or a salt thereof in an agriculturally
acceptable carrier.
The present invention further provides a method of
promoting crop yields by applying the above plant growth
regulator composition to plants.
The present invention still further provides a
method of forming and anchoring roots of rice seedlings
by applying the rice seedlings an effective amount of
ISSUES
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a plant growth-regulating compound selected from the
group consisting of phosphorylcholine, a salt -thereof,
or a salt of choline.
According to the present invention, the effective
ingredient reduces the photo respiration of -the plants to
promote the crop yields, to promote the formation and
anchorage of the rice seedling roots.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The choline salts used in the method of the present
invention may be inorganic salts such as hydrochloride,
phosphate, polyphosphate, sulfate, nitrate, and
carbonate salts. Organic salts such as acetate, citrate
(choline dihydrogen citrate), lactate, and l tart rate
(choline bitartrate~ salts can also be suitably used.
Phosphorylcholine salts that may be used include
phosphorylcholine chloride sodium salt and
phosphorylcholine chloride calcium salt.
The most desirable of these choline salts are the
hydrochloride, the phosphate, and the choline
bitartrate. Of these, the hydrochloride is especially
desirable. Phosphorylcholine chloride sodium salt is
desirable as a phosphorylcholine salt.
Choline and phosphorylcholine or so are well-known
and commercially available, and salts thereof can be
easily produced by a conventional process.
Phosphorylcholine can also be obtained by reacting
choline with ortho phosphoric acid or its salt as
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disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure (Cook) No.
52-113924.
The plant growth regulator composition of the
present invention may be formulated for application in
any known and conventional form, such as a powder,
aqueous solution, or emulsion, or as a suspension in
water or oil. Among the formulations just mentioned
above, aqueous solution is most preferred. In the
formulations, phosphorylcholine or its salt may be
contained in the amount of 1 wit% to 75 wit%. Further,
the plant growth regulator composition of the present
invention can contain another conventional
agriculturally active ingredient such as fertilizer,
insecticide, bactericide, and the like. In addition,
a surfactant may preferably contained in the amount of
1 wit% to 20 wit% to promote the adsorption and
penetration of the active ingredient. Preferred
surfactants may include non ionic surfactant such as
polyoxyethylene alkyd ether and anionic surfactant such
I as laurel sulfonic acid triethanolamine salt.
The amount of the effective ingredient to be
applied varies with the type of plant, the stage of
plant growth, the manner of application, the time of
application, and molecular weight of -the choline salt
but normally ranges from 100 to 10,000 grams, and
preferably from 500 to 4,000 grams of active ingredient
per Hector. The effective ingredient of the present
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invention is generally sprayed onto the stalks and
leaves of the plant in the form of an aqueous solution.
An aqueous solution containing lo to 20,000 ppm, and
preferably 300 to Lowe ppm of -the growth regulating
compound is sprayed.
When phosphorylcholine or a salt thereof is used to
promote root formation, -the seedlings are immersed in
its aqueous solution of l to 500 ppm, and preferably lo
to lo ppm.
lo When choline salts are used to promote root
formation or anchoring in rice seedlings, the roots of
the rice seedlings are generally irrigated with an
aqueous solution before being transplanted, and
preferably at least lo days before transplantation. The
concentration of choline salts used in this case is 10
to l,000 ppm, and preferably 25 to 200 ppm.
Generally a good time to apply the plant growth
regulating compound is when photo respiration by the
plant is at its peak. For instance, use at some point
from the period of reproductive growth to the harvesting
period for the plant is desirable. However, depending
on the plant, use during the period of vegetative growth
may provide more desirable effects. In other words,
there are no specific limits on the period of
administration.
The plant growth regulator composition of the
present invention can be used for C3 plants such as
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rice, wheat, beans, sugar beet, sweet potato, potato,
onion and spring onion i.e., plants -that represent major
food sources. When the plant growth regulator
composition of the present invention is employed, it is
capable of regulating the growth and also increasing the
yields of C3 plants.
Example 1
Preparation of choline salt_
A mixture of 242 grams of 50% choline and 50 my of
pure water was cooled to 5C in a nitrogen atmosphere
and 110 g of 89% phosphoric acid was added thereto
drops while stirring.
This gave 402 grams of a 50% choline phosphate
(choline salt of phosphoric acid) solution having a pi
of 4.9. This aqueous solution was concentrated to give
the phosphate salt.
Aqueous solutions of various other choline salts
shown in Table 1 below were prepared in the same way by
using different acids. Each of these solutions was
concentrated and crystals of the respective salts
obtained. In cases where the salt was difficult to
obtain as crystals, it was used in the form of an
aqueous solution.
Table 1 gives the chemical names, formulas,
and properties of several choline salts and
phosphorylcholine salts thus obtained. The compound No.
will be used through the specification.
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Experiment 1
_ _ __ __ _, _
Rice leaf blades were mounted in moist cotton
within a chamber (acrylic resin box 10 x 10 x 0.6 cm).
The light intensity, room temperature, and relative
humidity were held at 40 Clucks, 25C, and 80~1 respect
lively. The rate of photo respiration was determined by
measuring the rate of carbon dioxide discharge from the
difference in carbon dioxide concentration at the
chamber inlet and outlet while passing carbon
dioxide-free air through the chamber at a flow rate of
one liter per hour.
The carbon dioxide concentration was measured with
an infrared carbon dioxide analyzer.
The prepared compounds were dissolved to various
concentrations in distilled water, and adjusted to a pi
of 7. One milliliter of solution was injected with a
syringe through a silicone rubber plug into the moist
portion of the cotton within the leaf chamber. The
normal rate of photo respiration of rice leaf blades was
about 2.7 my of COY per square decimeter per hour.
Table 2 shows the percent inhibition of
photo respiration by the prepared compounds. The ratio
of inhibition shown in Table 2 is defined by the
following equation:
/ amount of generated COY per
Inhibition (I am-O-ut-nt-iom-fe agen--erateed- cooper x 100
\ unit time before treatment
I
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Table 2
Compound Concentration Inhibition
No. (my) (~)
2 8.8 - - 17.5
1 17 6 15
27
6 10 25
42
Experiment 2
One hundred liters per ten ares of various strength
solutions of invented plant growth-regulating compound
to which surfactant (polyoxyethylene alkyd ether) had
been added to a concentration of 200 ppm were sprayed
onto potato plants (variety: Danshaku) at the peak of
the flowering stage two months after planting in
experimental plots.
The potatoes were harvested one month later and the
weight of the harvested potatoes was measured. The
results are shown in Table 3.
ISLES
Table 3
Compound Concentration kg/10 ares Yield*
No. ppm) _ Jo _ _ _ __ _ _
Untreated _ 2,900 100
500 3,630 125
1,000 3,770 130
2,000 3,190 110
* Ratio to untreated plot (=100)
Experiment 3
_ _ __ ___ _ _
One hundred liters per ten ares of various strength
solutions of plan-t growth-regulating compound to which
surfac-tant (polyoxyethylene alkyd ether) had been added
to a concentration of 200 ppm were sprayed onto the
stalks and leaves of sweet potatoes (variety: Kogane
Sanguine) 1.5 months after planting in experimental plots.
The sweet potatoes were harvested two months later
and the weight of the harvested sweet potatoes was
measured. The results are shown in Table 4.
Table 4
Compound Concentration.¦kg/10 ares Yield*
No. (ppm)
Untreated _ 1,990 100
500 2,180 110
1,000 2,380 120
2,000 1,950 __ 9 _
*Ratio to untreated plot (=100)
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Experiment 4
__ _ _ _ _ _
The basal 2 - 3 centimeters of sweet potato
seedlings (variety: Cook No. 14) were immersed for
24 hours in an aqueous solution of the plan-t
growth-regulating compound at various concentrations.
The immersed seedlings were then multi cultivated in
plots. On the seventh day after planting, some of the
seedlings were dug up and the lengths of the new roots
were measured.
Table 5 gives the results.
Table 5
Compound Concentration Total root
No. (ppm) length (mm)
per plant
_ ____
Untreated _ 22
6 50 776
I;` 100 85
The weight of the sweet potatoes was measured 110
days after planting the seedlings, and the results in
Table 6 obtained.
Table 6
Compound Concentration kg/10 ares Yield*
No. (ppm)
Untreated _ 1,890 100
6 20 2,360 125
2,270 120
100 1,850 98
___ __ __ _ ______ _
* Ratio to untreated plot (=100)
US
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Experiment 5
Paddy rice seeds (variety: Yukihikari) disinfected
with a 200-fold solution of a disinfectant (manufactured
by Du Pont under the trade name of Banality) were planted
in seedling boxes treated with 6 grams of 4% disk
infect ant (manufactured by SANYO Co., Japan, under the
trade name of Tachigalen~ per box (30 x 60 x 3 cm) for
soil sterilization. Twenty-four days after planting,
the boxes were irrigated with 500 my of choline chloride
solution at varying strengths. Twenty-five days after
planting/ three clumps of five plants each were
transplanted into l/5000-are Wagner pots and the growth
after 10 days was checked. The average temperature
during this period was low at 14.8C. The results
15 obtained are given in Table 7.
Table 7
Fresh weight*
leaves and stem roots
..
Untreated 100 100
Tao g/plant) (0.28 g/plant)
Choline chloride (20 ppm) 96 130
" " (50 ppm) 98 160
" " (100 ppm) I 165
* Ratio to untreated plot
Experiment 6
Paddy rice seeds (100 g per box) (variety:
Ishihikari) disinfected with a 200-fold solution of
:
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Banality were germinated in a incubator at 32C. Two
days later, germinated paddy seeds were planted in
seedling boxes filled with artificial soil and left in a
seedling incubator at 32C for two days. Five hundred
my of a 1000-fold solution of a disinfectant
(manufactured by SHEA DIAMOND ALKALI, Japan, under the
trade name of Deacon) was applied and the seedlings
grown under controlled conditions in a polyvinyl house.
Five days before transplantation, the seedling
boxes were irrigated with 12.5 my, 25 my, or 50 my of
choline phosphate diluted in 500 my of water. Thirty-
five days after planting the seeds, the seedlings were
transplanted into a paddy field, and growth was examined
one month after transplantation. the results are given
in Table 8.
Table 8
plant height number of
mg/box (cm) stems
Untreated - 22.3 4.9
Choline phosphate, 12.5 21.1 5.3
,, I 25 21.2 5.8
" " 50 19.0 5.0
The mean temperatures following transplantation
were as follows.
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. . ... .... . . .. ..
Number of days
after trays- 0--4 5-910-1415-19 20-24 25-29
plantation _ _
Mean tempera- 12.0 18.5 15.8 19.1 17.1 17.1
-lure I
The roots of the seedlings treated with choline
phosphate were cut at the time of transplantation,
placed in a 100 cc beaker containing water, and the
degree of root formation examined after 14 days of
growth at 15C. The results are presented in Table 9.
Table 9
(A) (B) I
mg/box root number rooting emergence
length of roots strength of root
per plant hairs
Untreated - 0.7 cm 3.3 squint
Choline salt 12.5 1.1 cm 2.5 2.8 abundant
" 25 1.3 cm 4.0 abundant
., 50 1.0 cm 3.2 abundant
