Lesson Structure:  Cutting Propagation BHT211

There are 8 lessons:

1  Introduction.

• The principles of propagating plants by cuttings
• Importance of cuttings
• Phenotype vs genotype,
• Why choose cutting propagation
• Where to get cuttings from
• Basic cutting technique.

2  Stem cuttings.

• Ease with which tissue forms roots
• Types of stem cuttings (softwood, hardwood, semi hardwood, herbaceous, tip, heel, nodal, cane etc)
• Treatments (eg. basal heat, mist, tent, etc), testing rooting, etc.

3  Non-stem cuttings.

• Leaf cuttings
• Root cuttings (natural suckering with or without division
• Induced suckering
• In situ whole root cuttings
• Ex situ detached root cuttings)
• Bulb cuttings
• Scaling and twin scaling
• Sectioning
• Basal cuttage.

4  Materials and equipment.

• Selection and maintenance of stock plants
• Disinfecting cutting material;

5  Growing media.

• Propagation media; biological, chemical and physical characteristics of propagation and potting media
• Testing for toxins
• Air filled porosity
• Potting up cuttings
• Soil-less mixes
• Rockwool, etc.

6  Factors affecting rooting.

• Juvenility
• Cutting Treatments (hormones & their application, anti transparents
• Acid/base treatments
• Disinfectants etc)
• Callusing
• Mycorrhizae
• Carbon Dioxide enrichment, etc.

7  Setting up a propagation area.

• Creating and managing an appropriate cutting environment in terms of: Water; Disease; Temperature; Light and Air Quality. Greenhouses and other structures
• Watering methods (mist, fog, capillary etc), heating, etc.

8  Management of cutting crops.

• Estimating cost of production; Keeping records, etc.

Learning Goals:  Cutting Propagation BHT211

• To familiarise the student with the principles of propagating plants by cuttings
• To develop an understanding of how to propagate plants from stem cuttings
• To develop an understanding of how to propagate plants from non-stem cuttings
• To develop an understanding of the materials and equipment used for propagating plants from stems
• To understand the principles of growing media in relation to cutting propagation
• To understand how and why cuttings form roots. To learn how to manipulate the formation of roots on cuttings
• To understand the principles for establishing successful plant propagation areas
• To understand the principles of nursery crop scheduling

• Establish an area near where you live that can be used for the raising of cuttings ,It doesn’t need to be a greenhouse, just a sheltered place where you can raise the cuttings you will be asked to grow for this course.
• Select ten different plants that can be grown by stem cuttings. Practice preparing different types of cuttings until you feel you can do this well.
• Place samples of your cuttings in a propagating mix and place in the propagation area. Keep the mix moist and observe the behaviour of the cuttings. (eg. does it put on new leaves? Do changes in temperature effect growth? Do any cuttings die? etc. )Make notes of your observations. You will be asked questions about your results later in the course.
• Prepare leaf cuttings for five different plant species.
• Prepare root cuttings for five different plant species.
• Prepare bulb cuttings for five different plant species.
• Place samples of cuttings in a propagating mix.
• Visit three plant propagation nurseries and see if you can find out where they obtain their propagation material.
• Test soil samples and name them.
• Go to your local nursery and/or garden supply and find out what rooting hormones they sell. See if you can discover what chemicals the products contain.
• Visit three different commercial greenhouses.
• Prepare a pot of cuttings and estimate the cost of production for each cutting produced.

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Excerpt From The Course

You will always improve your success in cutting propagation, if you use the right equipment and materials for the job.

STOCK PLANTS

Stock plants are those plants from which you take your cuttings or other vegetative material (e.g. bulbs, layers, divisions). Stock plants are frequently the most under-rated aspect of vegetative production.

Note: ‘Your Cuttings Are Only Ever As Good As The Plants They Come From!’

If your stock plants are in poor condition:

• Your cuttings may have a lower rate of success.
• Your cuttings may be slower to form roots.
• You may transmit pest or disease problems from your stock plants to other plants in your propagation bed or greenhouse.
• Your cuttings may not develop as strong a growth as they might otherwise.

Selecting Stock Plants

Only use:

• Plants free of disease and pests.
• Plants which are true to type. The stock plants need to be correctly identified and clearly labelled.
• Plants which have been grown under preferred conditions.
• Plants which have been growing well.
• Plants which have been adequately fed, and are free from signs of any nutrient deficiency or leaf burn.

Selection of a ‘true-to-type’ cultivar is something which may require the expert knowledge of a botanist, a taxonomist or a horticulturist. Clonal selection, practised in some countries, involves careful selection of one plant of optimum quality and type. All stock plants are then propagated from this one parent plant.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PLANTS

When deciding what plants to grow or stock in a nursery, you should take into consideration the following criteria:

Ease of Propagation

Is it very easy, of average ease or difficult?

Very easy to propagate plants may bring a lower wholesale price, and their supply in the marketplace might be greater. Difficult plants may be more costly to produce, and more risky to get a profit from unless you have better than average skills.

Availability of Stock

Can it always be purchased in the form you want it (i.e. is seed or tube stock of the plant available for purchase). If the propagation material is to be imported you will need to consider quarantine restrictions.

Time to Grow It

Some plants can be ready to sell within months, others take many years. Plants that can be produced and sold quickly will generate income quickly.

Suitability to Your Facilities

Do you have the right buildings, propagation equipment and other facilities to grow the particular plants under consideration?

Do you have the money and the space to provide those facilities?

Suitability of Climate

What plants are most suitable to grow in your climate?

It is always more efficient to work with the environment rather than trying to modify environments.

Distance from Potential Markets

Transport is costly, and can be risky.

Your Staff’s Skills

Don’t try to do what you are not skilled to do.

Someone with more or specialist skills will probably do it better and cheaper.

Stock Plants Must Be Labelled CorrectlyAlways cross-check the spelling with a reputable publication – such as the Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary or Hortus.

Planting Out Stock Plants

Stock plants should be planted and maintained in the very best conditions. Aspect, light conditions, soil type, etc. should be considered carefully. Avoid areas that have been used in recent times for any form of crop production, particularly if crops grown in the area are in any way related to the stock plants you wish to grow, or the pests and diseases that are common to the crops that were grown are likely to be problems also for your stock plants.

Any stock plant area should be cleaned thoroughly before planting. Remove all weeds and rubbish from the area.

Stock plants should be kept apart from the main production area of a nursery, so that disease or pest problems in the nursery can be stopped before they infect the stock area.

Treatment throughout the Year

Pruning may be necessary to control the type of growth as well as the size and shape of the plant. Pruning a few months prior to taking cuttings can stimulate more growth of the type which is best suited for cuttings.

Feeding should be adequate, but be careful ‑ too much nitrogen can stimulate too much soft growth.

Irrigation is important, particularly during the main growing season.

Some types of plants (e.g. those grown from hardwood cuttings) may require very hard annual pruning to encourage suitable cutting material to develop for the next season.