A 1-hour application of indole-3-acetic acid to bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Red Kidney) explants inhibited abscission for an 8-hour aging period. Use of indole-3-acetic acid-(14)C showed that the applied indole-3-acetic acid was conjugated within explant tissue and that this conjugation mechanism accounts for loss of effectiveness of indole-3-acetic acid in inhibiting abscission after 8 hours. Reapplication of indole-3-acetic acid to an explant at a later time, before the induced aging requirement was completed reinhibited abscission. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, which is not destroyed or conjugated by this system, did not lose its ability to inhibit abscission. It was concluded that indole-3-acetic acid destruction is one of the processes involved in the aging stage of abscission in explants.