(Also known as: gibberellic acid; monopotassium salt)
Hazard alerts
The following Pesticide Hazard Tricolour (PHT) alerts are based on the data in the tables below. An absence of an alert does not imply the substance has no implications for human health, biodiversity or the environment but just that we do not have the data to form a judgement. The alerts for Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) are based on applying the FAO/WHO (Type 1) and the PAN (Type II) criteria to PPDB data. Further details on the HHP indicators are given in the tables below. Neither the PHT nor the HHP hazard alerts take account of usage patterns or exposure, thus they do not represent risk.
PHT: Environmental fate
PHT: Ecotoxicity
PHT: Human health
Highly Hazardous Pesticide
Human health Low alert
GENERAL INFORMATION
Description
A natural plant growth regulator with a variety of uses including improving fruit set, increasing berry size and controlling fruit maturity
Example pests/issues controlled
Growth; Stress
Example applications
Seedless grapes Vegetables; Cereals
Efficacy & activity
As gibberellic acid, it has been proven as a biostimulant by both extensive lab and field studies over the last century. In a study with rice, gibberellic acid treatment was shown to significantly increased plant height, earlier flowering, and higher seed yield. Application to grapevines has been found to enhance berry size and improve cluster compactness. This leads to higher market value and better quality produce. Gibberellic acid treatment to wheat has been shown to increase stem elongation, leading to taller plants with more biomass. With tomatoes, gibberellic acid has been shown to promote early flowering and fruit set, leading to an extended harvest period and increased total yield.
Appearance and life cycle
-
Taxonomic classification
-
GB regulatory status
GB COPR regulatory status
Approved
Date COPR inclusion expires
31/08/2029
GB LERAP status
None
EC Regulation 1107/2009 (repealing 91/414)
EC Regulation 1107/2009 status
Approved
Dossier rapporteur/co-rapporteur
Slovenia/Slovakia
Date EC 1107/2009 inclusion expires
31/10/2026
EU Candidate for substitution (CfS)
No
Listed in EU database
Yes
Approved for use (✓) under EC 1107/2009 in the following EU Member States
ATAustria
BEBelgium
BGBulgaria
CYCyprus
CZCzech Republic
DEGermany
DKDenmark
EEEstonia
ELGreece
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
ESSpain
FIFinland
FRFrance
HRCroatia
HUHungary
IEIreland
ITItaly
LTLithuania
LULuxembourg
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
LVLatvia
MTMalta
NLNetherlands
PLPoland
PTPortugal
RORomania
SESweden
SISlovenia
SKSlovakia
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Approved for use (✓) under EC 1107/2009 by Mutual Recognition of Authorisation and/or national regulations in the following EEA countries
ISIceland
NONorway
Additional information
Also used in
-
Chemical structure
Isomerism
The parent acid is a complex molecule with 8 chiral centres
The substance has various physiological and morphological effects on plants. It promotes stem elongation by stimulating both cell division and elongation. It activates genes that produce enzymes responsible for cell wall loosening, allowing cells to expand. It also helps plants cope with various abiotic stresses, such as salinity and drought, by modulating physiological and biochemical processes
Substance source
Gibberellic acid is naturally found in various sources including fungi, many plants (e.g. cereal grains like rice, corn, wheat, and barley) amd some bacteria. It is also found in the developing seeds of peaches, onion bulbs, spinach, and ferns. The primary commercial source of gibberellic acid is the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi
1962, parent acid was discovered in Japan; Circa 1935 parent acid introduced
Example manufacturers & suppliers of products using this active now or historically
ICI Plant Protection
Abbott
Nihon Nohyaku
Valent BioSciences
Example products using this active
Formulation and application details
Often formulated as a liquid for hand-held spray equipment, as a seed treatment and as a hydroponic nutrient enhancer
Commercial production
The most common method of commercial production is using a process called Submerged Fermentation. The fungus is cultivated in a liquid nutrient medium where it produces gibberellic acid. Key factors like pH, temperature, and nutrient concentration are carefully controlled to optimize production. Solid-State Fermentation is an alternative method where the fungus is grown on solid materials like agricultural residues. After fermentation, the gibberellic acid is extracted and purified. The purified gibberellic acid is converted into its potassium salt form, resulting in potassium gibberellate.
Impact on climate of production and use
As microbial-based products tend to use fermentation-based production processes rather than chemical synthesis, they typically have a lower fossil fuel input in formulation and active ingredient creation, and also have reduced downstream emissions due to biodegradability and minimal soil disruption, their life-cycle GHG emissions are expected to be low. Whilst hard and precise data is not available, broad estimates suggest that typically emissions are likely to be below 5 kg CO₂e/kg.
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Solubility - In water at 20 °C at pH 7 (mg l⁻¹)
-
-
-
Solubility - In organic solvents at 20 °C (mg l⁻¹)
-
-
-
Melting point (°C)
-
-
-
Boiling point (°C)
-
-
-
Degradation point (°C)
-
-
-
Flashpoint (°C)
-
-
-
Octanol-water partition coefficient at pH 7, 20 °C
P
-
-
-
Log P
-
-
-
Fat solubility of residues
Solubility
-
-
-
Data type
-
-
-
Density (g ml⁻¹)
-
-
-
Dissociation constant pKa) at 25 °C
-
-
-
-
Vapour pressure at 20 °C (mPa)
-
-
-
Henry's law constant at 25 °C (Pa m³ mol⁻¹)
-
-
-
Volatilisation as max % of applied dose lost
From plant surface
-
-
-
From soil surface
-
-
-
Maximum UV-vis absorption L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹
-
-
-
Surface tension (mN m⁻¹)
-
-
-
Degradation
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
General biodegradability
Not readily biodegradable
Soil degradation (days)
DT₅₀ (typical)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ modelling endpoint
-
-
-
Note
-
Soil mineralisation
Aerobic (at 20 °C)
-
-
-
Anaerobic (at 20 °C)
-
-
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on and in plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous photolysis DT₅₀ (days) at pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous hydrolysis DT₅₀ (days) at 20 °C and pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Water-sediment DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Water phase only DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Sediment phase only DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Air degradation
As this parameter is not normally measured directly, a surrogate measure is used: ‘Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀’. Where data is available, this can be found in the Fate Indices section below.
Decay in stored produce DT₅₀
-
Soil adsorption and mobility
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Linear
Kd (mL g⁻¹)
-
-
-
Koc (mL g⁻¹)
-
Notes and range
-
Freundlich
Kf (mL g⁻¹)
-
-
-
Kfoc (mL g⁻¹)
-
1/n
-
Notes and range
-
pH sensitivity
-
Known metabolites
None
ECOTOXICOLOGY
Terrestrial ecotoxicology
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Mammals - Acute oral LD₅₀ (mg kg⁻¹)
> 6300
Q3 Q = Miscellaneous data from online sources 3 = Unverified data of known source
Rat
Low
Mammals - Short Term Oral NOAEL (mg kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹)
-
-
-
Mammals - Long Term (Chronic) Oral NOAEL (mg kg⁻¹ bw d⁻¹)
Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D. and Green, A. (2016) An international database for pesticide risk assessments and management. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(4), 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2015.1133242
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Human health
