Preferred term

apical dominance

Is replaced by

[Henderson's] phenomenon common in plant development in which the bud at the tip of the shoot, the apical bud, suppresses the development of lateral buds which have formed further down the stem. If the apical bud is removed, the lateral buds then develop. The apical bud produces a growth-inhibitory hormone that is carried back down the stem.

http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/msa0057