Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% Water-Soluble Rooting Hormone for Tissue Culture & Micropropagation – Indole-3-Butyric Acid Potassium Salt for MS Media, Liquid Culture & Precision Stock Solutions

Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% (Indole-3-Butyric Acid Potassium Salt) is a laboratory-grade rooting hormone specifically engineered for tissue culture, micropropagation, and precision liquid formulations. Unlike standard IBA acid, IBA-K is the potassium salt form, making it fully water-soluble and ideal for sterile media preparation without the need for alcohols or harsh solvents.

Designed for professional growers, labs, and advanced propagators, Boca Hydro IBA-K dissolves cleanly in distilled or deionized water, allowing for accurate, repeatable concentrations in Murashige & Skoog (MS) media, liquid culture systems, and rooting solutions. This ensures uniform auxin availability, promoting rapid root initiation, strong lateral root development, and consistent explant response.

IBA-K is especially suited for in-vitro culture, where clarity, stability, and precision are critical. It integrates seamlessly into agar-based or liquid media, stock solutions, and automated dosing systems, making it the preferred auxin for commercial tissue culture labs, orchid propagation, woody plant micropropagation, and elite clone production.

With 99% active ingredient purity, Boca Hydro IBA-K delivers reliable performance at extremely low use rates, minimizing variability and maximizing rooting efficiency across a wide range of plant species.

Key Benefits

• 100% water-soluble potassium salt form

• Ideal for tissue culture, MS media, and micropropagation

• No alcohol or solvent required for dissolution

• Promotes fast, uniform root initiation and branching

• Ultra-high purity for laboratory and commercial use

• Perfect for stock solutions, agar media, and liquid cultures

Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% is the professional standard for precision rooting, offering unmatched solubility, consistency, and control for modern plant propagation systems.

 

Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% – Tissue Culture & Rooting Guide

Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% (Indole-3-Butyric Acid Potassium Salt) is a fully water-soluble rooting hormone designed for tissue culture (in-vitro) and ex-vitro cutting propagation. Because these applications use very different concentrations, please follow the correct section below.

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1) Tissue Culture (In-Vitro) Use

For sterile MS media, agar, or liquid culture systems. Tissue culture uses very low IBA-K levels because plant tissues are exposed continuously.

Plant Type	Final Strength (ppm)	Final % (w/v)	Grams of 99% IBA-K per 1 Liter
Orchids	0.5 – 3 ppm	0.00005 – 0.0003%	0.0005 – 0.003 g
Citrus	1 – 5 ppm	0.0001 – 0.0005%	0.001 – 0.005 g
Tomato	0.5 – 2 ppm	0.00005 – 0.0002%	0.0005 – 0.002 g
Peppers	1 – 3 ppm	0.0001 – 0.0003%	0.001 – 0.003 g
Fruit Trees (General)	2 – 10 ppm	0.0002 – 0.001%	0.002 – 0.010 g
Woody Ornamentals	3 – 20 ppm	0.0003 – 0.002%	0.003 – 0.020 g

Recommended Mixing Method (Tissue Culture)

Because these amounts are extremely small, we strongly recommend using a stock solution.

Make a 1,000 ppm IBA-K Stock Solution:

• Add 1.01 grams Boca Hydro IBA-K 99%
• Bring to 1 liter with distilled or DI water
• This creates a 1,000 ppm stock solution

How to Dose Into MS Media (per 1 liter final):

• 1 ppm → add 1 mL stock
• 3 ppm → add 3 mL stock
• 5 ppm → add 5 mL stock
• 10 ppm → add 10 mL stock

❌ Do NOT Autoclave IBA-K

Autoclaving (high heat and pressure) can:

• Degrade auxins

• Reduce activity

• Cause unpredictable results in tissue culture

Hormones should always be sterilized cold.

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Correct Method: Filter Sterilization

What You Need

• 0.22 µm (micron) syringe filter

• Sterile syringe

• Sterile container or media bottle

• Distilled or deionized water

Step 1 – Make an IBA-K Stock Solution

• Dissolve 1.01 g Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% in water

• Bring to 1 liter total volume

• This makes a 1,000 ppm stock solution

(IBA-K dissolves directly in water — no alcohol needed)

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Step 2 – Filter Sterilize

1. Draw the stock solution into a sterile syringe

2. Attach a 0.22 µm syringe filter

3. Push the solution through the filter into a sterile bottle or directly into sterile media

This physically removes bacteria and fungal spores.

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Step 3 – Store Properly

• Store sterilized stock refrigerated (2–8 °C)

• Protect from light

• Use within 2–4 weeks for best activity

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When to Add IBA-K to Media

• Autoclave your MS TCM media first

• Allow media to cool to below 50 °C

• Add the filter-sterilized IBA-K stock

• Swirl gently to mix

Why This Works

• 0.22 µm filters remove microorganisms

• No heat = no hormone breakdown

• This is the standard method used in commercial tissue culture labs

Common Mistakes

• ❌ Autoclaving hormones

• ❌ Adding hormone before sterilization

• ❌ Using unfiltered stock in sterile media

• ❌ Storing stock warm or in light

IBA-K is sterilized by filtering, not heating. Always add it after autoclaving your media.

 

 

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2) Cuttings & Nursery Rooting (Ex-Vitro)

For stem cuttings, air-layering, cloning, and nursery propagation. These concentrations are higher because exposure time is short (dip or soak).

Application Type	IBA-K Strength	% (w/v)	Grams of 99% IBA-K per 1 Liter
Mild soak (longer exposure)	250 ppm	0.025%	0.253 g
Standard quick dip	500 ppm	0.05%	0.505 g
Strong quick dip (most citrus)	1000 ppm	0.1%	1.01 g
Very difficult varieties	2000 ppm	0.2%	2.02 g