The following points highlight the four commercial uses of gibberellins. The commercial uses are: 1. Malting of Barley 2. Increasing Sugarcane Yield 3. Fruit Production and 4. Seed Production.
Commercial Use # 1. Malting of Barley:
Gibberellins are sometimes used to increase the amount of a -amylase in germinating barley (Hordeum vulgare) which is used in production of malt for brewing industry.
Commercial Use # 2. Increasing Sugarcane Yield:
In sugarcane, the cane sugar (sucrose) is stored in parenchyma cells of internodes. Gibberellins stimulate elongation of internodes. Spraying the sugarcane crop with gibberellins markedly increases sugarcane growth and sugar yields.
Commercial Use # 3. Fruit Production:
Seedless and large sized grapes are produced on commercial scale by gibberellin treatment. Gibberellins cause stalks of grapes to increase considerably, so that there is more space for grapes to enlarge in the grape bunches. A mixture of the cytokinin benzyl adenine and GA4 + GA7 (the preparation being called as promalin) is very effective in stimulating apple fruits to increase in size especially in red Delicious-type apples.
Gibberellins have also been sprayed on some citrus fruit trees (such as naval-orange) at a time when the fruits have lost most of their green colour, to prevent many post-harvest rind (fruit coat) disorders which appear during storage. Hence, gibberellins delay senescence and maintain firmer rinds of the fruits.
Commercial Use # 4. Seed Production:
A mixture of GA4 and GA7 is used to enhance seed production in conifers. In some biennial vegetables such as beet and cabbage, gibberellin treatment stimulates bolting and thus time for seed production can be considerably reduced.