Microcomputer Calculation of Growth Regulator Solutions
David A. Gilbertz · HortScience · 1992
Additional index words. computer program, soil drench, sprayThe chemical concentration used during application of plant growth regulators is important for obtaining a desirable response (Davis et al., 1988;Larson, 1985).Even small errors in calculating growth retardant dilutions can delay flowering, reduce flower size, or cause excessive or inadequate height control.Some articles elucidate the formulae and calculations for soil drenches and sprays used with ornamental crops (Barrett, 1983; Gilbertz, 1989), but a computer program would simplify the calculations even further.With this in mind, a stand-alone microcomputer program was written (Fig. 1) that simplifies the calculations involved and provides information on costs per application.The software is written in BASIC and compiled as a stand-alone executable program for IBM-compatible computers (minimum configuration: 64K and one floppy drive).The program presents a menu of growth retardants stored in a separate data file.Other compounds can be added permanently to the menu by answering a series of program prompts.The user can choose to input cost of the compounds, which will be used to calculate the expense of the requested treatment and number of plants treatable for the container size and chemical concentra-