AlabamaJack said:
I take it as concern about what the stuff I am putting on my peppers will do to me and those who eat them....I am surprised you can't find much information on Auxin since superthrive has been sold since the 40s...I didn't know Auxin was an active ingredient in Agent Orange but do know Agent Orange was nasty...have you ever known anyone that came in contact with it in "Nam"...
Oh, I can find information on auxin just fine, what I can't find is any work on nutritional changes in plants treated with auxin, or health issues that may be connected to plants treated with auxin. That may be because no ones done the research, or it may be because the research was done so long ago it's not searchable on the web, and it may be because my google foo is too weak.
I tried very hard to avoid conclusions because there really isn't any solid research that I could lay my hands on that says "auxin is bad for you and/or your plants" or "auxin is just peachy for plants and people". Oh, there was one site that said auxin was perfectly safe, but I had difficulty in putting much faith in a site with that many spelling and grammar errors.
What I was trying to do was leave the door open. We know that *some* phyto-compounds affect human health, some positively, some negatively. Nothing I found on auxin gives evidence of an affect either way. The sheep ovary thing was on tissue culture, and in vitro experiments don't always translate into in vivo in the same manner.
Anyway, another reason my plants are tall is the parental naga was about 4 feet tall at maturity (best to my recollection)...so it could be that with me adding the "grow stuff" to them they are going to be really tall...but then again, look at BBs Nagas...they are 7 feet tall....dangit BB...
Four feet for a chinense isn't all that tall. I refer to them as the rowdy boys of the garden. Oh sure, there are shorter ones, but getting to 4 feet is pretty normal for most of mine.
I think the fact that yours go straight up with almost no branching is what makes them look like they've had auxin. Remember apical dominance? A refresher, for those like me, who need one:
http://plantphys.info/apical/apical.html
By increasing the amount of auxin in the plant, you've suppressed lateral bud production. Hence, plants that go straight up with little or no branching. Not an unhealthy plant, just one that doesn't branch as much as others.
Here is my new additive I am starting to use also....
Liquid Karma
From:http://www.plantlightinghydroponics...a-metabolic-growth-stimulant-quart-p-307.html
"Plant Extracts containing high levels of auxins and cytokinins for successful plant micropropagation (tissue culture)"
So, maybe the cytokinins will balance the auxin.
Botanicare, btw, has only two products OMRI listed. This isn't the do all and be all of organic gardening, but it seems if they went to the trouble of getting two of their products listed, it must have some clout. I'm bringing this up because of our debate on what's natural and what's not.
The two listed products are Humex and Seaplex.