Writing about Fessenden’s static irrigator caused an old popup memory. A chemical called Gibberellin was a big deal in the 50s and 60s, advertised as a universal helper for plants. Science mags wrote about it, and house and garden catalogs featured it. I wasn’t interested in gardening so didn’t really explore the subject.
I haven’t seen a mention of it in MANY years. Was it banned or discouraged?
It wasn’t banned; some gardeners are still using it. The lookup included a surprising reference to the Green Revolution, which I also discussed in previous item.
Powergrown, a company selling the compound, writes:
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Gibberellic acid was a key component of what many agriculturists call the “green revolution”. Farmers discovered they could significantly increase crop yields with the use of gibberellic acid, and that they could add nitrogen fertilizer without worrying much about excessive stem elongation. This resulted in a direct increase of grains like wheat and rice. This shows the importance and the effectiveness of gibberellic acid as a plant growth regulator.
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So my random popup wasn’t quite so random. It must have been stirred by the combination of two subjects, in McBee Card style.
Polistra's Mill 