Cytokinin paste - how to make it yourself and how to use it?

April 11, 2016
This article should primarily be of interest to orchid lovers. But you should know that cytokinin paste is successfully used not only with phalaenopsis, but also with other indoor and garden flowers that are difficult to propagate. If you have cytokinin paste, growing any flowers turns into a pleasure and rewarding activity. You will get excellent results with succulents, hibiscus, saintpaulias, roses, camellias, citrus fruits, begonias, etc.

Cytokinin paste is a hormonal preparation that contains cytokinins - substances for growth and vitamins important for plants.

Composition of cytokinin paste

The instructions contain information about the active substances - benzyladenine or b-BAP, which act as stimulators of cell division in plants. Additionally, cytokine paste can contain various vitamins and lanolin . Most often, the composition contains vitamins B1 and B6; the composition is also added with succinic acid.

The active substance suppresses the development of the central shoot and stimulates the growth of lateral shoots. Thanks to this influence, the flower turns into a lush bush, the rate of its aging is further reduced and resistance to diseases increases. The product can be used to grow flowers both indoors and garden varieties.

Violets

Another indoor flower for vegetative propagation of which cytokinin paste is widely used is Uzambara violet Saintpaulia:

Varietal Usambara violets Saintpaulia

It is its varieties that either reproduce poorly vegetatively, or, being cloned with leaves by a well-known florist, lose their varietal qualities. It is possible to avoid both by introducing cytokinin into the aquiferous tissue of the plant. To do this, the skin of the cutting is scratched shallowly with a thin sterilized needle and cytokinin paste is injected into the wound, see video:

Video: using cytokinin paste for violets

Note: in the same way you can clone varietal fuchsias, etc.

What is the drug capable of?

Cytokinin paste contains cytokinins, which are involved in the processes of physiological formation of the plant. The product belongs to phytohormones that have a multifunctional effect. The most common and important effect is stimulation of cell division. When compared with other drugs in the group, cytokinin paste has several advantages:

• accelerates the formation of shoots, peduncles or shoots for plant propagation;
• when used in home crops, the product helps to increase the number of female flowers - these are useful shoots, ovaries will form on them. It plays a particularly important role in the initiation of female type flowers in cucumbers and corn;
• promotes restoration of tuberous and bulbous flowers after drying or turgor. Gardeners apply the ointment to the eyes of rhizomes or tubers, then they are transferred to a nutrient medium until 1-2 leaves appear;
• reduces the rate of aging of the flower, and accordingly, the reproductive function is prolonged;
• the remedy serves to awaken the kidneys;
• ensures the formation of shoots in the desired location;
  Cytokinin paste in a tube
• influences the appearance and development of generative organs. When treated with ointment, color loss accelerates;
• affects the metabolism in plant shoots that have completed their development. Cytokinin paste inhibits the withering and destruction of these organs;
• improves the condition of plants exposed to negative growing conditions: they were strewn with salt, grew in overly watered soil or dry soil, were exposed to low temperatures.

Additional positive effects include an increase in the effectiveness of other fertilizers; plants also recover faster after losing color. The paste helps to revive the flower after various negative phenomena.

Release forms

6-BAP goes on sale in the form of a white powder consisting of small needle-shaped crystals, pos. 1. It is difficult to find it in small packaging for individual use, so most amateurs prefer to use the finished drug (item 2), especially since pure 6-BAP must be stored under special conditions and its shelf life is limited.

Cytokinin paste for indoor plants is easy to prepare yourself or use substitutes from improvised means that the same indoor plants will provide, see below, so buy homemade surrogates in obviously not airtight packaging, pos. 3, should not. The Chinese even sell cytokinin paste in jars, pos. 4. Well, who knows. Maybe they have huge armies of farm workers there, measuredly walking around the vast fields, diligently processing every bud (see below), but for the very active indoor gardeners of a city with a million people, one such jar will last at least a year, and the drug, if opened, will become unusable even earlier .

How to make your own cytokinin paste

Today, cytokinin paste is sold in few places, despite the positive reviews and popularity of the product. Even in specialized stores it is not always possible to find this drug. If you still want to find where the substance is sold, you should place orders in online stores . There is another way out - to create an ointment yourself, since all the ingredients are freely available.

To make the product you will need b-BAP (the active substance), as well as lanolin, it is only important that it is dehydrated. The use of other waxes of animal origin is unacceptable . Preparation requires the use of 96% medical alcohol; other types of technical or drinking alcohol cannot be used in the composition. For storage you will also need a small bottle made of darkened glass.

Cooking process:

1. Take a dark glass container and pour 20 ml of alcohol into it.
2. Add 2-3 transparent beads to the bottle; they will help stir the mixture easier.
3. Lanonin is heated in a glass container.
   To warm up, place the container in a water bath. The process should be continued until a liquid substance is obtained. Cytokinin hormonal paste "EffectBio"
4. 1 g of benzyladenine should be separated and placed in a bottle. Then the mixture is capped and shaken.
5. The mixture from the bottle is poured into a glass container with heated lanolin. Everything is thoroughly mixed.
6. The vessel is removed from the water bath and covered with a lid. It is important to leave small holes for ventilation, this will help ventilate the alcohol. It is recommended to install the mixture in a warm room without sunlight.
7. After eliminating the alcohol, you will get a paste; the process takes about two days. The finished ointment is placed in a special container and stored in the refrigerator. If storage conditions are met, the paste can be used for 5 years.

There is another method of preparing a product with phytohormones; for this you will need to have leaves of agave, also known as aloe vera. The plant is distinguished by its ability to synthesize cytokinin substances in the shortest possible time.

DIY cytokinin paste:

1. A ripe agave leaf is cut off and thoroughly washed under water.
2. A plastic film is pre-prepared and the cut sheet is placed in it. When wrapped, it is placed in a dark place with a low temperature, approximately 4 °C for 2 weeks.
3. After the settling process, the sheet is cut into slices and then placed in a glass container. Add a little medical alcohol on top and close the lid.
4. When the extract is obtained, it is necessary to clean it of the resulting impurities by passing the liquid through a sieve, gauze or filter paper (best).

This manipulation makes it possible to obtain a substance that, in terms of physical and chemical properties, is an analogue of b-BAP. The further method of making paste is fully consistent with the first instructions. The dosage of the drug – 1 g allows you to treat up to 200 stems or rhizomes of plants.

Cytokinin paste instructions for use

Why does the plant need this ointment?

Cytokinin paste is designed to accelerate the process of cell division and regulate metabolic processes, since its use stimulates the synthesis of amino acids. After the first application, the following result is achieved:

• 
  a “sleeping” growth or flower bud wakes up, which soon blooms, and the flowering itself will be long;

• the existence of aging and dying shoots is prolonged;
• thanks to cytokinin, the growth of the main shoot is suppressed, while the lateral shoots actively develop;
• the flower becomes more magnificent, brighter;
• The aging process slows down and resistance to disease increases.

How and when to use the paste?

The use of cytonine paste for different colors is approximately similar and has the same principles. The method of application for indoor and garden plants depends on the main purpose of the drug.

If it is necessary to speed up the awakening of the kidneys, you must adhere to the following instructions:

1. Initially, you need to create a small cut or scratch on the surface of the plant, the main thing is to make shallow damage. All cuts should be made with a knife or needle after disinfection. In some cases, you can use a toothpick. If there is keratinized bark on the surface of the plant, it is necessary to remove the protective layer.
2. An open cut will appear, onto which you need to apply a small drop of the substance (diameter about 2 mm). Using a small tool, spread the paste evenly over the surface.
3. The process of waiting for awakening takes about 7–10 days.

It is recommended to apply the paste during the period when the flower is awakening. The most suitable period is the end of winter or the beginning of spring.

The use of cytokinin paste for the generation of new kidneys is slightly different:

1. Using a disinfected tool, you need to make a scratch in a convenient place on the stem, from here a bud will appear.
2. Next, apply ointment in the size of a small pea and cover the area where the scratch appears.
3. You need to wait 1–2 weeks for the birth of a peduncle or other shoots; the duration largely depends on the type of flower.

An important difference for the birth of a peduncle is the need to apply a minimum portion of the paste, and for the formation of vegetative shoots, more of the drug should be applied. You can carry out the manipulation at any time of the year, the main thing is warmth indoors (for house plants) or outside (for garden flowers).

Fruits and vegetables

Cytokinin paste OVI 1.5 ml

It is recommended to use cytokine paste for indoor grapes, cucumbers from a greenhouse or indoor cultivation. The method of use is not fundamentally different. It is important to correctly determine the expected result . To obtain a peduncle, you need to use a drop of 0.5–1 mm, and to form a shoot for propagation – 2–2.5 mm, no larger than the head of a match. Cucumbers can only be processed for flowering.

To obtain abundant color, branches should be treated closer to the base. It is recommended to cover only the buds with flowers; the remaining buds should not be treated.

Citrus plants can be treated with the product, but the effect of the drug only increases the branching of the bush. When growing a lemon or tangerine tree, in most cases 4-5 orders of branches appear. Each fruit requires about 20 formed leaves . For the growth and appearance of the fruit, 3-4 prunings are needed, which are carried out annually, but in indoor conditions the plant cannot withstand such a load. As a result of the above situation, “tops” stand out, they draw a lot of nutrition and lead to the drying out of the tree.

Under such conditions, it takes 6–8 years before fruiting begins. When treating trees with paste once a year in the spring, it is possible to get fruits in the second year, and then see them every year.

Orchids

Cytokinin paste for orchids is most often used due to the active reaction to the composition of the substance. There are 2 main reasons for using ointment: improving reproduction or accelerating cultivation.

It is important to note that the paste for propagating orchids must take into account the peculiarity of the plant - a weak rhizome; accordingly, the plant is not able to provide nutrition to all flower stalks. It is necessary to treat the flower stalks moderately, and it is better not to stimulate young flowers at all, otherwise the leaves may fall off and the plant will die.

It is recommended to apply to orchids in late winter or early spring. During this period, the flower begins to awaken. Cytokinin paste for orchids begins to be used already when the peduncle is formed using the following technology:

1. Choose a good bud, preferably at the very bottom.
2. Remove the upper scale that protects the kidney.
3. Cause a slight injury to the stem with a scalpel or other instrument.
   Cytokinin paste - how to apply it to a plant correctly
4. Using a needle disinfected in alcohol, you need to make a couple of small scratches and apply a little paste to them.
5. Distribute the excess substance evenly throughout the kidney.

For the result to occur, you need to wait 2 weeks and a peduncle or baby will appear on the treated area, which will allow the flower to propagate. After using the paste, it is necessary to provide fertilizing, warmth and sufficient light.

Violets

Cytokinin paste for violets is often used when propagating hybrid plant varieties, since hybrids are difficult to propagate. You need to cut the sheet near the outlet closer to the ground, and form a cut at 45°. Then they are planted in light types of soil and wait for the roots to appear.

Babies with paste form faster; you should use a needle to damage the root near the pot. This accelerates development, and the effect will be noticeable after 2 weeks.

Another method is to cut the top with several rows of leaves, then standard rooting is carried out, but paste is used at the cut site. It covers the entire cut surface.

For other plants

The substance can be used for various colors, but almost always the application period is spring. The paste is mainly used for roses in the garden, since the bushes cannot awaken in time after severe frosts. Without the use of the substance, the bush will not bloom at all, and foliage will appear closer to summer . With the paste in May there will already be a beautiful bush with timely and abundant flowering. It is important to additionally fertilize with fertilizers containing nitrogen and minerals.

Cytokinin paste application for indoor plants

The standard scheme is often used for gloxinia, hibiscus and anthurium. Among citrus fruits that respond well to hormones: tangerine, orange, lemon. Can also be used for conifers and other crops that are difficult to grow.

Caring for your orchid while the product is in effect

While waiting for the result, check the kidneys so that they do not dry out and, if necessary, spray with a little warm water. Results may take one to two weeks to begin to appear.

Feed the orchid with fertilizer. Add nitrogen to the complex fertilizer for orchids.

You can feed it with succinic acid (sold at the pharmacy). Crush 2 tablets and dissolve in hot water. Add water to 1 liter. Spray or water with a warm solution 2 times a month.

Try other orchid fertilizers from a trusted supplier: