Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at the Postgraduate AgriculturalResearch Station (PARS), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to evaluate the effect of an auxin, indole-3- acetamide (lAM) and its precursor L-tryptophan (L-TRP), on the growth and yield of rice (cv. Basmati-385). Rice seedlings were treated with different levels of L-TRP (10-2 to 10-6 M) and lAM (10-:Jto 10-9 M) by dipping the roots in respective solution for one hour just before transplanting them into the field. In case of control, roots were dipped in tap water for the same period of time. Both the pure auxin and its precursor significantly enhanced the yield and NPK contents of rice compared to untreated control. L-tryptophan application @ 10-5 M significantly increased the plant height (4.3c.kI), paddy yield (42.9%), number of tillers (29.7%), and c. number of panicles (28.5%), compared to control. The same level of L-TRP also significantly improved NPK contents of rice. Key words: auxins, indole-3-acetamide, L-tryptophan
