Either the free acid form or the sodium salt of Dalapon (2,2-dichloropropionic acid) and of TCA (trichloroacetic acid) and the sodium salt of 2,2,3-trichloropropionic acid (free acid not tested) were effective in improving the low temperature resistance of sugar beet seedlings grown in 4- and 8-p.p.m. solutions in the dark at 21 deg;C., and evaluated by short exposures to minus;10 deg;C. Isopropy-N(3-chlorophenyl) carbamate, amino triazole, sodium chloride, and trichlorobenzoic acid were ineffective in similar tests. In a series of experiments involving periodic sampling and freezing of Dalapon-treated illuminated sugar beet seedlings during a 24 day period of storage at 6 deg;C., the chemically treated plants were again superior to the comparable controls. The "cold-hardening" treatments tended to increase the magnitude of the difference between chemically treated and control plants. The amount of improvement was more variable in the tests with green plants than with those grown in the dark.
展开▼