Synthetic PGRs are carcinogenic, this we know… but what about the natural PGRs like seaweed kelp extracts… have any of you ever used natural PGRs on your fruit trees to promote branching and better fruit quality? Im genuinely curious. Thanks. (PGR stands for Plant Growth Regulator for those that dont know)
its very disingenuous to state that Synthetic PGRs are carcinogenic.
NAA is produced synthetically but it is also found in plants. Just having synthetic production does not indite the agent of being carcinogenic, nor does being harvested in origin prove its safety.
I would venture the poison in in the dose in most cases. If you harvested from seaweeds to replace NAA sprays on apple trees. I’m sure we would soon discover many of the same issues that arise from the abuse and over use of synthetic agents.
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There is a long history with PGRs and carcinogens. I ask myself why would i buy a synthetic PGR thats identical to an orgnanic PGR? I might as well skip all the synthetics and go for the natural organic kelp.
I really want to know if anyone use organic kelp PGRs on their trees and have they noticed a difference?
I didn’t mean to offend people about synthetic PGRs… its just the history behind them is heavy and they are strongly disliked by many, to be honest. When people tell me synthetic PGRs arent bad i think of this Camel cigarette add from back in the day 
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I’ve used kelp products and will continue to do so, but just because something is labeled “organic” doesn’t automatically make it safer or better in every situation. Some large-scale commercial cannabis growers have reduced or eliminated kelp-based fertilizers because their crops were failing heavy-metal tests linked to kelp use. France and other governments also routinely issue warnings about consuming kelp due to excessive levels of heavy metals.
While you might prefer organic inputs over synthetic ones, naturally occurring contaminants like arsenic and other heavy metals are still undesirable—in fact, some are known carcinogens.
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Also Grok is terrible and the first sentence it gave you is wrong.
- Seaweed Extracts (e.g., Ascophyllum nodosum-based products like Maxicrop, Kelpak, or similar biostimulants)
Kelpak isn’t Ascophyllum nodosum, it’s from the kelp species Ecklonia maxima.
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If you’re saying it’s chemically identical it’s still going to be a carcinogen if you source it from nature. The source it’s what matters it’s the chemical that matters. Plants are chemical factories and they can be good or bad for humans. If you’re concentrating heavy metals from the seaweed it would be worse than if you’re synthesizing it from a source without heavy metals
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nicotine, straight from nature. good stuff
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Ricin, mustard gas. Great all natural products.
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I stopped trusting organic labels when i found out the pesticide companies had “organic” redefined because they own the food industry. I find it interesting the conversation went from inorganic pgrs arent that bad to natural pgrs have carcinogens as well and i get made fun of for thinking kelp would be safer, shots fired from all directions lmao. Ill skip kelp now that i know it has arsenic. Thanks for that.
Im with you on that, as many of our organic sources are contaminated. Fish emulsion from continental sources are full of pfos as is most sewage fertilizer solids. Aka milorganite.
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Don’t stop using kelp products based on anything I said. I use them myself and don’t think twice about it. Rather than using kelp products for a specific growth effect, I use them more for the overall health of the plant. Kelp products generally don’t have standardized doses of a particular plant hormone; they often contain multiple different hormones, which makes it harder to use them for a targeted effect. The two products in your initial post will give you different effects—one’s primary hormones are auxins, while the other is primarily cytokinins.
The reason the conversation went the way it did is because your initial post told a large number of people here—based on zero evidence—that they are giving themselves, their families, and their friends cancer. I don’t like the idea that someone could read your post and begin to worry, completely unnecessarily, that they gave their child cancer because they used rooting powder to start a fig cutting.
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Awesome comment, thats part of the reason why i make fish amino acid fertlizer with locally sourced fish so i know they come from clean water.
I could have worded the post with more tact, ill admit… but i wanted to get responses lol. Making bold and broad claims like that makes gets people engaged in the conversation easier. People are more likely to correct, we cant help it. ive learned A LOT from this group already and i love it
Indeed. Organic/Inorganic is not an issue for me. Quality and price are the largest factors to me.
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Ok so your phrasing
To my ear this sounds like a person asking a vegan group why if the goal is getting people to not eat meat why they cant support eating less meat.
or going to a bunch of keto people and starting with its well known that saturated fat causes heart disease…
This sort of language sandwich drive certain folk crazy. It defines the context such that the other parties start off on the defensive.
Anyway you just need to ask the right question. You want a discussion on chemical induced branding. Grab @mroot @z0r @nil
Inducing branching with Promalin or something similar - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit
@ramv has reported on cytokinin
@Olpea @mamuang may have some opinions on chemical thinning.