The phenomenon by which the terminal apical bud suppresses the growth of lateral buds is referred to as apical dominance. This is because of the hormone auxin synthesised in the apical bud that inhibits lateral bud development.
This can be overcome by removing the apical bud (decapitating) and young leaves which will increase branching. It may also be possible to overcome this phenomenon by application of cytokinin and antiauxins like ethylene chlorohydrin, DCA (trichloroanisole), etc.
