Pinching the center bud leads to

• A. Lateral branching
• B. Stem elongation
• C. Flowering
• D. Root growth

Answer: (A)

Removing the terminal bud interrupts apical dominance, the plant’s tendency to grow upward while keeping side buds suppressed. The growing tip normally produces auxin, which travels downward and inhibits the development of lateral buds. When you pinch off the center bud, auxin levels drop, releasing those dormant side buds from dormancy and allowing them to grow. The outcome is more lateral branching as the plant fills out with new side shoots. This pinching action doesn’t primarily encourage stem elongation, and it’s not a direct prompt for flowering or root growth, so those responses aren’t the main result.