Indolyl-3-acetic Acid from the Developing Banana Fruit

Abstract

THE endogenous auxin of the banana fruit has never been investigated. Only Steward and Simmonds¹ and Khalifah² have published reports of work on the natural hormones of bananas. A cell division factor¹, presumably a cytokinin, and two gibberellin-like substances² have been demonstrated in young banana fruit. A role for auxin in the development of parthenocarpic banana fruit was suggested³ after exogenous application of α-naphthyl-acetic acid in an experiment to examine the nature of the auxin in the developing fruit of banana and to identify it.