Cutting Propagation

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

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
   • Stock plant Quality
   • Criteria for Selecting Plant Material
   • Planting Out Stock Plants
   • Care of Stock Plants
   • Stock Plants for Root Cuttings
   • Disinfecting cutting material
   • Sources of Hypochlorite
   • Plant Containers
   • Tools and Equipment
5. Growing Media
   • Propagation media
   • Biological, chemical and physical characteristics of propagation and potting media
   • Testing for toxins
   • Air filled porosity
   • Nutrition Management
   • Potting up cuttings
   • Soil-less mixes, rockwool, etc.
6. Factors affecting Rooting
   • Juvenility
   • Cutting Treatments
   • Hormones & their application; auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins
   • Applying Hormone
   • 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, cloches, cold frames, greenhouses, etc
   • Watering methods (mist, fog, capillary etc)
   • Heating, etc.
   • The Nursery Site
8. Management of Cutting Crops
   • Estimating cost of production
   • Efficiencies in Cutting Propagation
   • Keeping records
   • Management