Re: How does Niacin affect plant growth?

What are the articles that claim niacin benefits plant growth? Are they trying
to sell some sort of product containing niacin to improve plant growth? 

Photosynthetic plants are autotrophic. They can normally synthesize the
vitamins, such as niacin, and other organic compounds they need from carbon
dioxide gas and water via photosynthesis. The first website under references
describes that the NADP needed in photosynthesis is derived from nicotinic acid.

Niacin (nicotinic acid) can benefit plant growth in tissue culture, which is
artificial because it uses small pieces of plant tissue in a sterile medium.
There are many webpages on plant tissue culture that mention the use of
nicotinic acid.

Another situation where adding nicotinic acid could benefit plant growth is if
you are growing a mutant plant that cannot synthesize normal levels of nicotinic
acid. Scientists study all kinds of mutant plants.

References


Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration


James Bonner. 1938. NICOTINIC ACID AND THE GROWTH OF ISOLATED PEA EMBRYOS.
Plant Physiol. 13(4): 865–868.