PREFACE 



It is my strong conviction that the technology or the applied sci> 

 ence in a field of knowledge can make efficient progress only when 

 pursued with sound understanding of the fundamental science upon 

 which that technology is based. Progiess in technology without a foun- 

 dation of fundamental science can take only two forms, I believe. First, 

 minor improvements of applications or treatments which are already 

 essentially known can be made by technology alone; and second, oc- 

 casional (though rare) accidental discoveries of new applications or 

 treatments may be made. Practically every fnajor advance in agri- 

 ciUtural technology in the past half century has stemmed from funda- 

 mental scientific information. 



In view of this strong conviction, it is with considerable alarm 

 that I ha\e become more and more aware that a large proportion of 

 research work, dealing with auxins and growth regulators, is being 

 done without cognizance of what auxins do in plants, how they are 

 formed or destroyed there, or e\en how one tests for them. This book 

 is Avritten in the hope of providing the agricultural research worker 

 with a brief review of the physiological basis, so far as it is known, 

 upon which the applied technologies rest. 



Although several books are currently available in the area of auxin 

 physiology it is my feeling that none of them provide the research 

 man with as complete a general integration of the field as is needed. 

 Especially lacking has been an organized description of the various 

 techniques for obtaining, measuring and identifying auxins, as well 

 as an integration of the fundamental and technological aspects of 

 auxin physiology. 



It is my intention to present the general status of knowledge of 

 auxins in plant physiology, and to integrate this fundamental infor- 

 mation with each of the applied phases of auxin technology. I have 

 written for the graduate student and the professional research man. 



This book, does not attempt to review in detail the development of 

 knowledge of auxin physiology, for that is a function of the annual 

 and quarterly reviews. On the other hand, it is not intended that the 

 book should become a manual for the practical applications of auxins. 



It is hoped that the book will help to reverse the present tendency 

 to design and carry out research programs involving auxin applica- 

 tions without taking advantage of the great progress that has been 

 made in fundamental physiology. By utilizing the footholds which 

 fundamental discoveries have established, agricultural technology will 



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