BENZYLADENINE-INDUCED OFFSET FORMATION IN HOSTA DEPENDENT ON CULTIVAR

A foliar spray of 0, 1250, 2500, or 3750 mg benzyladenine (BA)/L was a pplied to 10 Hosta Tratt. (Funkia K. Spreng; Niobe Salisb.) cultivars. Response to BA treatment was cultivar dependent, with BA promoting of fset formation in half of the cultivars. Compared to the control, incr ease in offsets produced by cultivars treated with 3750 mg BA/L ranged from 116% in 'Francee' to 3500% in 'Francis Williams' at 30 days afte r treatment (DAT) and from 150% in 'Royal Standard' to 2250% in 'Franc is Williams' at 66 DAT; Offset stage of development, as indicated by t he number of unfurled leaves, was also cultivar- and BA-dependent. All cultivars treated with 3750 mg BA/L had an average of three or more u nfurled leaves at 60 DAT, while among control plants, 40% of cultivars averaged fewer than three unfurled leaves. No phytotoxic symptoms wer e noted in any cultivar, and plant size was either increased or not af fected by BA treatment. Chemical name used: N-(phenylmethyl)-1H-purin- 6-amine (benzyladenine; BA).