Antitranspirants retarded the rates of water use by oleanders grown along California's highways, and therefore have a potential for reducing the frequency of their irrigation as well as the associated costs and hazards. Antitranspirants also showed a potential for reducing the watering requirements of turf grass. Apart from water conservation, antitranspirants also proved useful in improving plant performance by increasing plant water potential. Thus, survival of transplanted seedlings was increased; water potentials in fruit trees were raised, leading to higher growth rates of fruit, final volumes of peaches being increased by 8% and of olives by 13%; shoot growth of oleanders was increased, but this could be partly offset by incorporating a growth retardant (Alar) in the spray. Antitranspirants decreased vegetative growth and yield of an annual field crop (snap beans), but also had the effect of delaying the maturity of the crop. Miscellaneous investigations included attempts to reduce blossom drop of beans, increase the life of cut Christmas trees, reduce lettuce tip burn, reduce the cracking of prune and cherry fruit, and increase the shipping life of bedding plants and the vase life of roses. (wrsic abstract)