SUNSHINE boosterS
Coming soon
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- Riefer's Magic Mix - soil mix
- ORCHIDASM - orchid fertilizer
- BUTTERFLY JOY - attractor
- TOTAL FEED - fertilizer
Wholesale
For bulk orders of SUNSHINE™ products, please contact us for more information.
HISTORY and RESEARCH
History of use
The first brassinosteroid was isolated in the end 1970 in the US by Mitchell, from bee-collected pollen of Yellow Turnip (Brassica napus). Today many brassinosteroids have been isolated from different plants and more then twenty-years or research proved importance of these naturally occured hormones for plant growth and development. Unfortunately, pollen contains very small amount of brassinosteroids, almost 100 lb of pollen is required to produce 5 mg of the hormone. That's why a chemical synthesis is the only way to produce it.
Active ingredient, Epibrassinolide, has a long history of horticultural use worldwide, and particularly in Russia, where it has been used under name Epin, for not only garden applications but also for commercial scale crop improvements, including cold tolerance, heat resistance of commercial crops like tomatoes, cucumber and other vegetables. Epin has been officially patented in Russia and Belarus in 1992, and it is used for treatment of different agricultural crops (cereals, legumes, potato and vegetables, sugar beet, flax, cotton), ornamental, and for commercial applications in horticulture. It is now widely used by gardeners and plant collectors in European countries to stimulate growth rate, enhance blooming, help plants recover from transportation and re-potting stress, and for successful propagation.
Epibrassinolide has been tested for many years in greenhouses of Top Tropicals (one of the founders of TT Laboratories) on tropical plants, rare, tender, sensitive species. The research showed amazing results beyond any expectations. Throughout the years, formula has been evaluated and improved.
For over a decade this hormone has been used by Top Tropicals horticulturists and their customers, and became a favorite “magic juice” for plants. Years ago it was imported from Russia in small 1 ml vials and was quite expensive. TT Laboratories, together with Top Tropicals specialists, finally have developed a new, improved, and more cost efficient formula, and are proud to have now our own product, Made In The USA!
This hormone has been very popular among Top Tropicals customers for the past decade. According to the gardeners' feedback, it is very effective treatment for plants recovery after shipping. Indeed, it improves plant development in non-tropical environment, and is a great help for a zone-pushing plant collector who grows tropicals on a windowsill or in a temperate greenhouse.
Chemical and Physical Properties of Active Ingredient
Chemical mechanism: active ingredient, Epibrassinolide, can increase synthesis of IAA, ABA and ethylene, promote individual cell expansion, and thus enhance plant growth. This is realized via complex sequence of biochemical shifts such as activation or suppression of key enzymatic reactions, promotion of protein synthesis, activation of photosynthesis, etc. Stable in neutral and mild acidic solutions, unstable in alkaline solutions.
Chemical name: (22R,23R,24R)-2a,3a,22,23-tetrahydroxy-24-methyl-B-homo-7-oxa-5a-cholestan-6-one.
Molecular formula: C28H48O6, Molecular weight: 480, no characteristic odor; it is sparingly soluble in water.
Upcoming research
Fruit and crops
..According to research, SUNSHINE™ can decrease physiological drop from fruit trees, including Citrus species, peach, apple, pear and persimmon. The bud-appearing stage, the flowering stage and the young fruit stage are preferred...
...SUNSHINE™ has a yield increasing effect on field crops and vegetables such as rice, corn, soybean, wheat, tomato and cucumber...
Potential virus cure
...Based on research conducted by Top Tropicals on Hibiscus plants, brassinolide applications greatly improved plant immunity and ability to fight viral diseases. Treated plants showed amazing results with leaf virus completely gone...
Fruit trees cure
...With regard to many fruit tree conditions, SUNSHINE™-E may be the cure we have been seeking. Some diseases are caused by bacterias which in many ways act like a virus. Whether a tree is allergic to the bacteria itself, or chemical(s) the bacteria are producing, the tree is "itchy". Everywhere there is a differentiation in tissue: leaves, branches, grafting interface and root system, we find the tissues are clogged with flavinoids, particularly caratenoids. SUNSHINE™-E may be the plant "benedryl" for which we have been searching for...
Experiments and photos
08/18/2016. Picture of Tomato seedlings with SUNSHINE application (on the right) and without (CN - control). Click to enlarge.
08/18/2016. Picture of Tomato seedlings with no treatment (left) and after using different concentrations of SUNSHINE. Click to enlarge.
12/05/20016:
These tomato seedlings potted 2 weeks ago, and those on the right treated with standard recommended dose of SUNSHINE™ twice (once a week).
12/12/16 Update:
Setting buds and flowers, batch of plants on the right
REFERENCES
Brassinosteroids: Practical Applications in Agriculture and Human Health
...The book provides a comprehensive overview on the practical applications of brassinosteroids in plant biology (including stress tolerance, growth and development) and human health (anticancer, antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity). Brassinosteroids is a new group of plant growth regulators with significant growth promoting influence which was first isolated and characterized from the pollen of Brassica napus. They are now considered as plant hormones with pleiotropic effects as they influence varied developmental processes like growth, germination of seeds, rhizogenesis, flowering, senescence and all kinds of stresses...
Brassinosteroids: Bioactivity and Crop Productivity