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)

Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% 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, laboratories, and advanced propagators, Boca Hydro IBA-K dissolves cleanly in distilled or deionized water, allowing for accurate and repeatable concentrations in Murashige & Skoog (MS) media, liquid culture systems, and rooting solutions. This provides uniform auxin availability to promote 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 easily into agar-based or liquid media, stock solutions, and automated dosing systems, making it suitable for commercial tissue culture laboratories, 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, helping minimize variability and maximize 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
• Suitable for stock solutions, agar media, and liquid cultures

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

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, use the appropriate section below.

1. Tissue Culture (In-Vitro) Use

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

Recommended Mixing Method for Tissue Culture

Because the amounts required for tissue culture are extremely small, preparing a stock solution is strongly recommended.

Prepare a 1,000 ppm IBA-K Stock Solution

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

Dosing the 1,000 ppm Stock Into MS Media

Filter Sterilization Method

What You Need

• 0.22 µm (micron) syringe filter
• Sterile syringe
• Sterile container or media bottle
• Distilled or deionized water

Step 1 — Prepare the IBA-K Stock Solution

• Dissolve 1.01 g Boca Hydro IBA-K 99% in water
• Bring to a final volume of 1 liter
• This produces a 1,000 ppm stock solution

Note: IBA-K dissolves directly in water. No alcohol is required.

Step 2 — Filter Sterilize

1. Draw the prepared IBA-K 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.

The filter physically removes bacteria and fungal spores without exposing the auxin solution to high heat.

Step 3 — Store Properly

• Store sterilized stock refrigerated at 2–8 °C
• Protect from light
• Use within 2–4 weeks for best activity

When to Add IBA-K to Tissue Culture Media

1. Prepare and autoclave your MS tissue culture media.
2. Allow the sterilized media to cool to below 50 °C.
3. Add the required amount of filter-sterilized IBA-K stock solution.
4. Swirl gently to mix thoroughly.

Why Filter Sterilization Is Used

• 0.22 µm filters remove microorganisms from the stock solution
• No high heat means reduced risk of hormone degradation
• Allows the hormone to be added after the culture media has been autoclaved

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Autoclaving the IBA-K hormone solution
• Adding the hormone before heat sterilization
• Using unfiltered stock solution in sterile media
• Storing prepared stock warm or exposed to light

2. Cuttings & Nursery Rooting (Ex-Vitro)

For stem cuttings, air-layering, cloning, and nursery propagation. These applications use substantially higher IBA-K concentrations because exposure is typically limited to a short dip or soak.