Made in the shade, by the @shade
I saw this article today - they seem to send it out every season and it’s always a good read. Anyway, some info on AV
Enhanced resilience
Aloe vera also contains enzymes and plant hormones that help to reduce transplant shock, and boost the plant’s resilience to drought, stress, and disease. For instance, the high levels of acemannan and saponin found in aloe vera both provide antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. This helps to protect plants from pathogens including harmful microbes, fungus, yeast, mold, or blight.
Last but not least, the high levels of salicylic acid naturally found in aloe vera plays a big role in its healing powers! You’ve probably heard of salicylic acid before; it’s commonly found in skincare products to fight blemishes. In a similar manner, salicylic acid enhances the plant’s version of an immune system (known as the systemic immune response or SAR) that will help them fend off disease.
The combination of all these things leads to happier, healthier plants that are more resilient to disease, pest pressure, as well as environmental stresses like transplanting, drought, chilling, heat, soil-borne contaminants, and more. Resilient plants require far less fussing and frustration, so you’ll be much happier too!
https://homesteadandchill.com/homemade-aloe-vera-fertilizer/
and then there’s this article, which talks about AV as a rooting hormone, and the natural PGRs (plant growth regulators) it has. The paper is titled, Effect of Aloe vera Gel for Inducing Rooting of Stem Cuttings and Air layering of Plants By Menaka-Fernando
(it’s not letting me post the link but the paper is on ResearchGate, and this is the Abstract:
Abstract and Figures
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are important to facilitate root formation and firm plant establishment hence used in vegetative propagation for many years. Farmers use natural alternative compounds to induce rooting of cuttings. The present study was conducted to identify the effect of Aloe vera gel on root formation of stem cuttings and air layering of plants. Three experiments were conducted to compare Aloe vera gel with commercially available PGR for root induction of semi hardwood cuttings (Citrus aurantifolia)), softwood cuttings (Coleus spp) and air layering plants of Syzygium jambos. Total root length, number of roots and root vigour were not significantly different among treatments for semi hardwood cuttings of Citrus aurantifolia, softwood cuttings of Coleus spp and air layering plants of Syzygium jambos. Furthermore, effect of PGR and Aloe vera gel was not significant for Citrus aurantifolia and Syzygium jambos. However, effect of PGR was significantly different when compared to cuttings did not receive either Aloe vera gel or PGR. Synthetic PGRs can be replaced by Aloe vera gel, a natural alternative root inducing substance, for semi hardwood cuttings of Citrus aurantifolia and air layering of Syzygium jambos but not for softwood cuttings of Coleus spp. These finding could be used in developing natural root inducing substance and resolving and reducing the risk of chemical toxicity in plants due to PGRs.