What is the answer to the plant hormones NEET 2026 cabbage question?
B) Gibberellin is correct: cabbage internode elongation just before flowering is called bolting. This plant hormones NEET 2026 question asks about a named pre-flowering growth process, not elongation in general. That distinction separates gibberellin from the auxin option.
The source is NEET UG 2026, held on 21 June 2026, Code-50. “Medium” is the question bank’s difficulty rating, not an official exam classification.
The question asks: Which growth regulator lengthens cabbage stem internodes as the plant approaches flowering?
How do cabbage, internodes and flowering identify bolting?
Together, the three clues identify bolting: rapid internode elongation just prior to flowering in rosette plants. An internode is the stem segment between successive nodes. In a rosette habit, leaves remain clustered on a short stem because its internodes are short.
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Read each clue separately:
- Cabbage: points to the rosette-plant examples discussed in NCERT.
- Internode elongation: identifies the part of the stem that lengthens.
- Just before flowering: supplies the timing that distinguishes bolting from general growth.
NCERT’s Plant Growth and Development discussion of gibberellins connects bolting with cabbage, beet and plants with rosette habit. Use all three clues, not the isolated word “elongation.”
How does gibberellin produce the change described in cabbage?
Gibberellins promote bolting in cabbage, beet and plants with rosette habit. As the supplied worked solution explains, gibberellin-induced cell elongation and division in stem internodes increase shoot length.
The sequence is:
- The rosette has a short stem with short internodes.
- Gibberellin promotes cell elongation and division in those internodes.
- The internodes lengthen, producing an elongated shoot associated with flowering.
The event being tested is stem internode elongation, not flowering itself. Flowering supplies the timing of that elongation.
The combined clues therefore identify B) Gibberellin. The answer follows from recognising bolting, not merely from knowing that gibberellin promotes growth.
Why does each option fit or fail the cabbage question?
Only gibberellin directly matches pre-flowering internode elongation in a rosette plant. Check each option against that complete description, not against “plant growth” alone. These are the actions relevant to this question, not the only effects of each regulator.
- A) Abscisic acid
Relevant action: growth inhibition, dormancy and stress responses. Fit: these actions do not identify the promoter of cabbage bolting.
- B) Gibberellin
Relevant action: promotes pre-flowering internode elongation in rosette plants. Fit: directly matches the plant, tissue and timing given in the stem.
- C) Indole butyric acid
Relevant action: an auxin used mainly for adventitious root induction. Fit: root induction is not the bolting process being tested.
- D) Ethephon
Relevant action: releases ethylene, which promotes fruit ripening and senescence and can inhibit elongation. Fit: it does not match cabbage bolting.
Identify bolting first. Use elimination to confirm that match rather than replace the biological reasoning.
Why is choosing IBA from the word “elongation” a mistake?
Auxins can promote elongation, but that fact does not identify the regulator of bolting. Choosing IBA from one keyword discards both the plant’s rosette habit and the timing before flowering.
- Faulty chain: elongation suggests auxin, so choose IBA.
- Corrected chain: cabbage with rosette habit and internode elongation before flowering identifies bolting; bolting identifies gibberellin.
Do not memorise “auxins never cause elongation.” That statement is false. Instead, identify the named process and tissue before choosing the hormone.
Under a marking scheme awarding four marks for correct option B and deducting one mark for wrong option C, the difference is:
That is a five-mark swing between answers, not a five-mark penalty for one wrong response. The distinction rests on recognising the process, not denying auxin’s role in elongation.
Can you apply the distinction to three related questions?
Use bolting to identify gibberellin, root induction to identify IBA, and ethylene release to identify Ethephon. These are original practice questions, not additional verified NEET PYQs. All stay within Plant Growth and Development under Plant Physiology.
Which regulator promotes bolting in beet?
Answer: C) Gibberellin. Beet replaces cabbage, but the process remains bolting: rapid pre-flowering internode elongation in a rosette plant. That process identifies gibberellin.
The correct letter has changed from the original question. Carry the biological relationship into the new question, not the option letter.
Which listed regulator is used mainly to induce adventitious roots in cuttings?
Answer: A) Indole butyric acid. Root induction in cuttings points to IBA, an auxin used for this purpose. The target is adventitious root formation, not pre-flowering stem internode elongation.
IBA was wrong in the cabbage question because the process did not fit. Here, the process makes it correct.
Which substance releases ethylene and is associated with promoting fruit ripening?
Answer: D) Ethephon. Applied ethephon releases ethylene, and ethylene promotes fruit ripening. Distinguish the applied compound, ethephon, from the hormone it releases, ethylene.
Before checking an answer key, write the target process beside each question: bolting, adventitious root induction or ethylene release for ripening. Then choose the matching regulator.
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Frequently asked questions
Which hormone promotes bolting in cabbage?
Gibberellin promotes bolting in cabbage, so B) Gibberellin is correct in the supplied question. The decisive clues are rosette habit, stem internode elongation and timing just before flowering.
What is bolting in rosette plants?
Bolting is rapid internode elongation just before flowering in plants with a rosette habit, such as cabbage and beet. Their initially short stem internodes lengthen to produce an elongated shoot. Gibberellins promote this process.
Why is IBA not the answer for cabbage internode elongation?
Auxins can promote elongation, but the cabbage question describes the specific process of bolting, which identifies gibberellin. IBA is an auxin used mainly for adventitious root induction. Choosing IBA from the word “elongation” alone ignores the rosette habit and pre-flowering timing.
What is the difference between ethephon and ethylene?
Ethephon is an applied compound that releases ethylene. Ethylene is the hormone associated with promoting fruit ripening and senescence. Ethephon does not match the cabbage bolting process tested in this question.