Volume 27

Please click on an abstract of your choice to access the relevant downloadable papers. Please note, you will need to be logged in as member in order to access the proceeding abstracts.

YOUNG PLANT PRODUCTION

Author: Roger Wasley

PP: 31

This paper deals with plant production in two sections: (A.) the setting up of the production unit and (B.) practicalities of propagation and production on the resultant nursery.
  1. Setting up the Production Unit. Points to consider before choosing the site.
    1. Type of nursery it is to be: for example, Pot Grown, Field Grown, etc.
    2. The location (this was decided before-hand in my case), and the size of the piece of land (3 acres in my case).
    3. Accessability of the site to road, water and electricity.
    4. Ease of location of the site; e.g. situated on a main road, etc.
    5. Location of horticultural suppliers.
    6. The physical properties of the site. These include: soil type, frost pockets, drainage, liability to flood and exposure to wind.

    The site was then tile-drained and subsoiled so as to improve soil structure etc., as the parent soil was of a clay loam type.

    The main areas of the nursery were:

    1. Stock plants
    2. Cold frames (low capital cost)
    3. Growing areas
PROPAGATION OF CAULIFLOWER FROM CUTTINGS

Author: Michael Farmer

PP: 60

It is very difficult to grow seed from Cornish winter cauliflower (broccoli). They mature in the middle of winter, and so cannot be left to seed in the field. Transplanting to a glasshouse is rarely successful owing to their susceptibility to bacterial rots developing both in the pith of the stem and also in the middle of the curd.

To overcome this problem, various methods have been tried to propagate vegetative shoots. These vegetative shoots can be grown under glass to produce plants with relatively thin stems and small heads which are not susceptible to bacterial rots and which can produce high yields of seed.

Some research work in Edinburgh about fifty years ago demonstrated that pieces of cauliflower curd could be propagated successfully. Following this, at Seale Hayne College it was found that when rooted pieces of curd were grown on in a warm glasshouse, the flower buds aborted and vegetative shoots developed on the inflorescence.

This technique has given quite useful results but

MICROPROPAGATION EXERCISES IN TEACHING PLANT PROPAGATION

Author: Hudson T. Hartmann, John E. Whisler

PP: 407

Most students in university-level plant propagation courses are aware of the rapidly developing field of tissue culture as it relates to the propagation of plants. Many are eager to have some first-hand experience with the techniques involved.

In our plant propagation course at the University of California, Davis, which is given in the spring quarter, we are presently accommodating about 150 students with five 3-hour lab sections per week. In the lab we cover the usual aspects of propagation by seeds, cuttings, grafting and budding, layering, etc. Into this we have interjected two exercises using aseptic culture techniques. The first is handled during our two laboratory sessions on seed propagation in which the students sterilize and plant cymbidium orchid seeds, in nutrient agar as is done commercially. After seeding, the flasks are placed in growth chambers for germination and development of the seedlings. In the second exercise the students cut apart cymbidium orchid shoot-tip

MULTI-MEDIA TEACHING METHODS

Author: Edwin D. Carpenter

PP: 414

Projected visuals have become one of the most effective tools in communicating ideas to people. In education, the need to make more use of visual aids increase as the need to improve communication methods increases. Visual presentations can easily be improved and at the same time made more interesting and informative.

Several methods of visual presentation are open to the instructor — audio-tutorial, wide-screen, multiple-screen and/or multiple-images. All of these methods have proven to be effective in developing concepts and in maintaining student interest (1,2,3,4,5,6).

The audio-tutorial system places the emphasis on the individual student's learning ability (4,6). It is designed for independent study with the aid of several to many learning events integrated into a meaningful sequence. Consequently, the slow learner has the opportunity to repeat the process as many times as necessary while the fast learner can move along more rapidly and without delay. Traditionally, the learning

TEACHING PLANT PROPAGATION BY VIDEO TAPE

Author: Henry Robitaille, Bruno Moser

PP: 416

For 1 year now we have had portable color video-tape capability in our teaching program at Purdue. Television has been used in horticulture, food science and landscape architecture courses and has been very well received by the students.

A major problem in the laboratory and field with large groups is that many often cannot satisfactorily observe demonstrations. We have found that with close-up television everyone can see equally well and, in addition, individuals have the opportunity to go back and review the technique at the audio visual center. Those who may have missed a laboratory can see the demonstration by simply replaying the tape. With today's classes of upwards of 200 students, field trips are virtually impossible. The best we can do is bring commercial operations to the students on tape. The disadvantage is that students cannot see as much as they would on an actual field trip. They also do not have the opportunity to ask questions. It is up to the instructor, therefore, to

EVERGREEN HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS

Author: Robert L. Baker

PP: 422

The majority of cultivated herbaceous perennials are characterized by foliage and stems which die to the ground at the end of the growing season. However there are some species of herbaceous perennials with evergreen foliage. Such plants, representing many different plant families, are found in many of the world's temperate floras. Generally they have creeping underground rhizomes, stolons or somewhat enlarged rootstocks which provide a source of water and food storage during the winter. Many of the small, low-growing genera such as Coptis, Mitchella, and Pyrola are found in northern latitudes where the snow cover affords winter protection for the evergreen leaves.

Evergreen herbaceous perennials lack secondary stem tissue and thus can be distinguished from suffruiticose evergreen perinnials such as Epigaea repens and Daphne cneorum which have persistent woody stems. Several other well-known evergreen perennials are classed as subshrubs, or suffrutescent perennials, whose stems are

PROPAGATION OF SELECTED MALUS TAXA FROM SOFTWOOD CUTTINGS

Author: Susan M. Burd, Michael Dirr

PP: 427

Cuttings of Malus × atrosanguinea, M. floribunda, M. ‘Hopa’, M. hupehensis, M. ‘Selkirk’ and M. siebodii zumi var. calocarpa were collected at two week intervals from May 14 to August 6, 1976. IBA, NAA or a combination were applied at concentrations of 2500, 10000, 20000, or 30000 ppm as a 5 sec dip. Control was a 50% alcohol solution. Parameters used to evaluate rooting included root number, root length, degree of callus formation and rooting percentage. May and early June cuttings rooted in the highest percentages. The 2500 and 10000 ppm IBA treatments proved most effective. The two highest hormonal concentrations resulted in phytotoxicity. M. × atrosanguinea, M. floribunda, and M. × z. var calocarpa exhibited the best rooting followed by M. ‘Selkrirk’, M. ‘Hopa’ and M. hupehensis.
PROPAGATION OF HYBRID LILACS

Author: Don Wedge

PP: 432

PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING

The production of lilac has been our major specialty since 1935. We graft 120,000 to 150,000 each year. In brief, our method of propagating hybrid lilac is to bench graft the lilac scion on green ash root pieces. We use a whip graft and secure the graft with grafting thread. The completed grafts are packed in poly bags, then placed in refrigerated storage, kept at a temperature of 31 to 35°F until we are ready to plant them directly to rows in the field.

Over the years we have made many experiments, 500 to 1000 grafts per trial, to test out a method and repeated it 2 years or more to double check the results. Like a good gambler we play the percentages learned from these experiments. Late years the stands of our lilac grafts have been quite consistent ranging from 70 to 90% per variety.

To raise this percentage closer to the 100% goal, we must look to the men handling the grafting knife. The sign of a good craftsman is a graft with a perfect contact the entire length of the cut, the cambium layers matching and in

PROPAGATION OF CLEMATIS

Author: Raymond J. Evison

PP: 436

Clematis propagation in the United Kingdom is generally carried out by the use of cuttings, grafting, seed, or division of roots. My company only uses three methods, that of propagation from cuttings, seed and division; species are generally the only ones produced from seed. Seed is acquired from plants growing in our garden. Quite a number of species do not come true from seed and produce variations, these variations are acceptable in general commerce. The species which are produced from seed are as follows; Clematis afoliata, C. campaniflora, C. hirsutissima var. scottii (syn. C. douglassi var. scotti), C. fargesii var. soulei, C. flammula, C. integrifolia ‘Rosea’ C. integrifolia ‘Olgae’, C. viorna. C. vitalba and C. viticella. The herbaceous types are produced from divisions. Selected clones of the above species are increased from cuttings, however, in most cases they prove to be difficult. Clematis afoliata can also be propagated by layering on a commercial scale. All other species and
PROPAGATION OF POTENTILLA

Author: Kathleen S. Freeland

PP: 441

Potentilla, also known as cinquefoil, is a member of the rose family. It is used as a rock garden plant or in borders or group plantings. Potentilla fruticosa is one of the most commonly grown species of its genus. The name potentilla was originally given to this group because of its potency as a medicine. Since fevers were often blamed on evil spirits, a medicine that reduced fever was looked upon as a potent against evil spirits. The name potentilla, a diminutive for powerful, arose from this belief. Most Potentilla fruticosa is hardy to Zone 2. Fruticosa is the latin word for shrubby, which describes the growth habit of this deciduous, densely leafy shrub, much branched and with bright yellow flowers (some have white or red flowers).

Potentilla is propagated by division, seeds and cuttings. Cuttings are by far the most economical commercial method; it is this method of propagation which will be discussed exclusively in this article.

Cuttings may be taken any time from early

PROPAGATING FRENCH HYBRID LILACS BY SOFTWOOD CUTTINGS

Author: Roger G. Coggeshall

PP: 442

Lilacs have been reproduced asexually for centuries. The methods used have varied greatly from continent to continent and from nursery to nursery. Many nurseries prefer to propagate their lilacs by root-grafting onto understocks of Ligustrum, or Fraxinus, while others prefer to propagate them from suckers, divisions. At Cherry Hill Nurseries, Inc., located in the northeastern corner of Massachusetts, about 4 to 5 miles from the ocean, we have found that a softwood cutting procedure works well.
EFFECT OF TIMING AND WOOD MATURITY ON ROOTING OF CUTTINGS OF COTINUS COGGYGRIA ‘ROYAL PURPLE’

Author: James D. Kelley, James E. Foret Jr

PP: 445

Softwood cuttings of Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ rooted best when taken as early as June 11. Rooting response decreased on each subsequent date, to 33% rooting on July 24. On all dates, with the exception of June 11, rooting was best when immature, actively growing, terminal wood was used and when cuttings were treated with a rooting hormone and rooted under intermittent mist. Hormones influenced root quality more than cutting time or maturity of the wood. Results indicate that with Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ rooting percentage can be at least 95% when attention is given to timing, wood selection, and the use of hormones.
GRAFTING CERTAIN CLIMBING PLANTS

Author: Tom Allen

PP: 62

CLEMATIS

Stocks. One can produce one's own or buy them in. If the latter, order them early the year before, in June or July. Stock plants should be set aside early and potted on into large pots around Christmas time and placed in a warm house, 50 to 60°F. The first scions should be ready in February.

Method: Side Graft. Plants then potted on into 2–½" pots and placed in closed cases, at a temperature of 70–75°F. Benlate is widely used on all clematis crops in order to combat Botrytis and, on growing plants, for mildew; application is every two weeks. Grafted plants should start to grow within the next month. They are removed from the case when buds are 1/8" high and placed on an open bench. They are staked with 12" splits when ready and moved into a cooler house. They should be ready for potting by the end of May/early June and will make good plants in flower by the middle to end August.

MIST NOZZLES

Author: L.P. Stoltz, J.N. Walker, G.A. Duncan

PP: 449

Prior to the development of mist propagation, the turgidity of cuttings in the rooting bench was maintained by manual syringing and shading. Hand syringing during hot weather requires a considerable amount of time especially for the first few days to acclimate the cuttings to their new situation without roots. The use of shade during the acclimation period or during the entire rooting period helped to reduce the transpiration rate but also increased rooting time as a result of light reduction. Early studies involved the use of various systems of supplying water to the cuttings such as centrifugal humidifiers, atomizing, deflector and whirling nozzles to alleviate the hand labor. The advent of mist propagation not only greatly alleviated the need for manual syringing but also permitted cuttings to be acclimated without the need for shading.

Although it is important to maintain the turgidity of the cuttings, excess mist can cause problems by reducing the medium temperature and/or leaching

PROPAGATION IN A HUMID CHAMBER

Author: D.C. Milbocker

PP: 455

A humid environment around cuttings is an essential requirement of propagation to prevent wilting. Humidity of air increases when exposed to warmer wet surfaces. The moist surfaces of leaves and the propagation medium serve to humidify the surrounding air during cool cloudy weather but are inadequate under hot, windy or sunny conditions. The amount of evaporative surface can be greatly increased by dispersing water droplets in the air. The surface of each droplet becomes an evaporative surface while air-borne or after impingement in another surface. The evaporative surface is greatest when the droplets are sufficiently small to remain air-borne and hence are defined as fog. The use of fog to maintain high relative humidity was tried and reported by Stoutemyer in 1942 (1). The heat accumulating in the enclosed humid atmosphere during mid-summer led to shading which, in turn, led to the use of non-solar lighting (2). The consequential stagnant environment encouraged fungal growth
PROPAGATION OF ARALIA ELATA ‘VARIEGATA’

Author: Joerg Leiss

PP: 461

The white variegated form of the Japanese angelica tree, a plant of the genus Araliacea to which belong Hedera and Acanthopanax, is a most exotic looking plant that thrives under difficulties that would tax most other plants. City conditions, sun, shade, or drought prove no obstacle.

We obtained our first two plants from a Belgian nursery approximately twelve years ago. The price at that time was $7.50. When we lost one of the two, the cost per plant was well over $20.00. However, during the second season of growth, large double compound leaves more than one inch long, edged on each of the more than 150 leaflets with a creamy white, was worth any price.

MANIPULATION OF HERBICIDES AND EFFECT OF HERBICIDES ON ROOTING

Author: Bruce A. Briggs

PP: 463

Ten herbicides were applied on Cotoneaster dammeri ‘Lofast’ in 1 gal containers in three different concentrations from low to medium to high ranges. While some of the low rates did tend to promote rooting and some of the excess rates did retard rooting, in general the normal dosages of herbicides which are adequate for weed control, showed little effect on the rooting of cuttings taken from the treated plants. The timing, condition of the wood, wounding and hormone treatment appear to be more critical factors than the normal rate of herbicide applied to the treated plants.

A second research project was set up to determine what properties the active herbicide would have on root formation when applied to the base of the cutting in a liquid solution. Eight different herbicides were applied to the base as a 5 sec dip in strengths of 5, 100 and 1000 ppm. The cuttings were then suspended through black poly and placed to grow under controlled conditions. They were observed and evaluated as to the effect on callus, root formation and hormonal reaction. While callus was slightly increased on some and decreased on others, no significant pattern developed. No attempt was made to correlate callus with rooting. In general, no hormonal reaction was observed that produces increased number or shorter roots.

The results of these two projects on Cotoneaster dammeri ‘Lofast’ seem to support other literature from former IPPS meetings, that a normal application of the herbicides tested to a stock plant, does not greatly affect the rooting ability of cuttings subsequently taken from that plant.

CAPILLARY IRRIGATION OF CONTAINER PLANTS1

Author: Edward Auger, Charles Zafonte, J.J. McGuire

PP: 467

Selected cultivars of rhododendrons and azaleas were grown in two container media under capillary and overhead irrigation and under five fertilizer regimes. Of the fertilizers incorporated into the container media at manufacturer's recommended rates, Osmocote 14–14–14 produced the best overall growth. The capillary system using the Chapin twin walled tubes on a sand base produced growth comparable to that obtained with conventional overhead irrigation but with only half as much water used.
MINIATURE ROSES BY OASIS ROOTCUBES

Author: Rick R. Allred

PP: 474

CUTTING PREPARATION AND STICKING

We start by taking 4 to 5 inch cuttings directly below a node using hand clippers. For convenience we use Clorox sterilized 2 gal buckets, which are used by our mail-order picking department, for collection of cuttings. While collecting cuttings, we try to keep them shaded and cooled with water to maintain turgidity. The average cutting is medium soft with six nodes and approximately 5 inches in length depending on cultivar. We find that we have a greater percentage of rooting and much less disease problems if we cut out the soft tip growth. Leaving two nodes with leaflets, we strip the rest of the cuttings and put them in bundles of 50. We have found it critical that the cuttings be cut within 1/8" below the node, for if more of the stem is left below the node a larger percentage of cuttings are lost due to rotting off. The cuttings are dipped in a quick-dip solution of: 10 grains of IBA (K salt), 20 cc isopropyl alcohol and 1 gal water. The cuttings

CONTROL OF DISEASE PROBLEMS AS IT RELATES TO PLANT PROPAGATION

Author: C.C. Powell Jr

PP: 477

Control of all diseases relates to propagation. Propagation is where general nursery disease control programs begin. Programmed, i.e. successful, plant disease management is based on propagation of only healthy plant material in an environment free of disease.

Achieving an environment free of disease is the same as saying controlling diseases during propagation. Active disease at this stage of the game means we will lose cuttings or seedlings. Disease means we will lose control of crop management and rooting or seed germination programs. Finally, disease means that we will be producing a certain amount of lower quality material that may actually be infected already. This infected material will be impossible to adequately program later on. It may eventually die after you've invested time, space, and money into it!

PROPAGATION OF KALMIA LATIFOLIA BY CUTTINGS

Author: Alfred J. Fordham

PP: 479

During the Question Box Session at last year's, IPPS meeting, the subject of Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) propagation by cuttings was discussed. While at the Arnold Arboretum, I worked on propagation of Kalmia by cuttings and have prepared a table showing the outcome of that effort. It gives data concerning 30 experiences, most of which show a high degree of success.

Many cultivars of Kalmia latifolia have been selected as natural variants either in the wild or from nursery rows. Oddly enough, K. latifolia ‘Rubra’, one of the first cultivars of this native American plant to appear in the records of the Arnold Arboretum, came from the English nursery firm of Veitch and Son in 1886. From native sources, the Arboretum received such Kalmia latifolia cultivars as ‘Obtusata’ (1886), ‘Polypetala’ (1870), and ‘Myrtifolia’ (1885).

Despite the fact that good garden forms were first described more than a century ago, few are carried in nursery lists. This can be explained by the fact that they were

DEEP PIT STORAGE OF NEWLY PROPAGATED PLANTS

Author: Case Hoogendoorn

PP: 485

A couple of years ago we showed a few pictures of a deep frame we were building 6 ft in the ground. It was referred to as a "hole in the ground" at that time. Since then we have been able to come up with a suitable name, "Deep pit storage for newly propagated plants".

The deep pit storage is now completed and during 2 years of operation we have been able to work out the bugs that have cropped up and it is now working to our satisfaction. The purpose of the deep pit storage is to prevent the splitting of more sensitive cuttings and grafts, yet allowing the plants to receive a little frost to get the proper dormancy. On the ground where the plants are stored we maintain a temperature of 28°F. During the first winter the storage was in use, the temperature outside was 14°F and the temperature at the base of the pit, where the plants were stored, was also 14°F, which led us to believe that the whole project was a disaster. The blue hydrangea cuttings were as black as coal; when rubbed they

NEW AND NOVEL COLD HARDY RHODODENDRONS

Author: David G. Leach

PP: 486

I've done a lot of work for the handicapped — the nurserymen. You fellows who sell rhododendrons are a unique industry dealing in living antiques. My colleagues and I have been producing 1977 style rhododendrons for cold climates, and I'm here to persuade you to give up your horticultural Stanley Steamers for new Buicks, whether they come from my production line or somebody else's. Nearly all of the rhododendrons you are selling were introduced in England jus as our Civil War was ending 110 years ago. They were designed for spacious estates and large gardens, for mansions and three-story Victorian houses. They were intended to be grafted, and to bloom only within a 10-day period at the end of May. They were not produced for American growing conditions. All told, they're about as well suited for the last quarter of the 20th century as the spinning wheel is for the production of nylon. Times have changed.

I joined the Plant Propagators' Society either the year it was founded, or the year after,

PROPAGATION OF ACER PLATANOIDES WALDERSII

Author: Ivan R. Dickings

PP: 62

This cultivar is similar to Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Brilliantissimum’ with young leaves opening out to a shrimp pink but more lacey in appearance. The leaves then turn to a creamy white, veined and speckled with green.

Preparation. Established pot grown stocks of Acer platanoides are brought into a cool, airy house 4 to 6 weeks prior to grafting. When they are suitably dried off, grafting can commence which takes place in late January.

Operation. The stocks are cut back to within 2" to 3" of the soil. The type of graft used is a side whip and its tied with thin rubber strips. The scion wood used is 6" long terminal shoots.

Aftercare. When grafted, the plants are plunged into moist peat with the union covered in a closed case with 65°F bottom heat. In about three weeks callus is visible and top growth begins. At this stage air is gradually applied and watering can take place. After hardening off, the plants are stood on an open shaded bench and, when weather permits, the plants are planted into a cold frame.

New Plant Forum

Author: Harrison Flint

PP: 492

Thursday Afternoon, December 8, 1977

Dr. Harrison serve as moderator for the new plant forum.

MODERATOR FLINT: Our first speaker on this portion of the program will be Ray Evision from the GB&I Region.

RAY EVISON: Clematis 'Niobe' is a new large flowered cultivar raised in Poland. It has bright red sepals with yellow anthers. This free flowering cultivar produces its first flowers from the old wood during late May/June and continues to produce flowers on the new growth until the beginning of October.

MODERATOR FLINT: Tom Pinney ha two birches he would like to tell us about.

TOM PINNEY: Two new birches which have apparent resistance to bronze birch borer are Betula platyphylla var. japonica, Japanese white birch and Betula platyphylla var. szechuanica, Szechuan white birch. The Japanese white birch has flat, light green shiny foliage. It has a medium growth rate with fine twigs which give it a somewhat drooping habit. It has a white bark but the bark is not exfoliating. The birch

NURSERY PLANT INTRODUCTIONS FROM MANITOBA

Author: Wilbert G. Ronald

PP: 494

The Agriculture Canada, Research Station, Morden, Manitoba, is located in Zone 3b of the U.S.D.A. and the Canadian Plant Hardiness Zone maps. To place us geographically, we are located approximately 450 miles northwest of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, or 70 miles southwest of Winnipeg. Plants introduced by the Morden Station are most useful for the northern Great Plains and prairie region and colder regions of northeastern U.S.A. and eastern Canada. The following introductions are available for propagation through the Canadian Ornamental Plant Foundation, P.O. Box 725, Durham, Ontairo, NOG, 1R0. Propagators who belong to this organization and pay a small royalty may propagate any COPF introduction.

‘Jacan’ elm is a 1977 introduction of Japanese elm (Ulmus japonica (Rehd.) Sarg.) which holds promise as a replacement for American elm. This new cultivar has a vase-shaped growth form, strong branches and demonstrated tolerance to inoculum of the Dutch elm

PIERIS FLORIBUNDA AND ITS PROPAGATION

Author: Alfred J. Fordham

PP: 495

Pieris floribunda ‘Millstream’, was selected from a seedling lot by H. Lincoln Foster of Falls Village, Connecticut. It forms a compact mound which produces an abundance of flowers each year even though the previous year's spent flower heads are not removed. The Arnold Arboretum is the registering authority for Pieris, so in 1963 Mr. Foster registered P.f. ‘Millstream’ and also provided an 8 inch layered plant. It has since developed into a compact plant about 18 inches tall and over 5 ft in diameter. It appears that 18 inches will be its ultimate height.

For observation and possible selection, seeds of Pieris floribunda ‘Millstream’ were sown and a seedling population comprising several hundred plants were raised. However, none showed improvement over the parent plant. Pieris seeds have no barriers to germination. When sown in late winter or early spring they will germinate and grow with the lengthening days.

Although other species in the genus Pieris root readily from cuttings

QUESTION BOX

Author: Ben Davis II, Ralph Shugert

PP: 497

The question box session was convened at 3:30 p.m. with Mr. Ben Davis II and Mr. Ralph Shugert serving as moderators.

MODERATOR SHUGERT: Have any useful fruiting (not just ornamental) cultivars of Malus been rooted?

PETE VERMEULEN: Yes, we rooted a number of cultivars several years ago and I believe these were reported in the Proceedings. We are not doing it now because we have quit growing the crabs. If the person who posed this question will search through the past literature and especially that of the Proceedings I am sure they will find quite a bit of information.

MODERATOR SHUGERT: Charles Heuser, what compounds can be used for the promotion of adventitious buds on root cuttings?

CHARLES HEUSER: The three most common materials used are kinetin, benzyl adenine, and 2-IP.

MODERATOR SHUGERT: When cuttings are some deciduos contoneasters are taken late in the seaon with the foliage still on and green, they root well and quickly under mist, but after hard

THE HORTICULTURAL REVOLUTION OF THE LAST 25 YEARS IN AUSTRALIA

Author: Milton B. Spurling

PP: 504

You may have thought at first sight that the title was chosen because it is the "in thing" to be involved in, or promoting, a revolution of some sort. However, I believe "revolution" is the most appropriate way to describe the order of the changes which have occurred in horticulture in Australia over the last 25 years.

Amenity horticulture and the associated propagation of plants has been largely neglected in the past but there is currently an upsurge of interest in this aspect. It may be useful for propagators to review the changes that have occurred during the "revolution" so that they may avoid some of the pitfalls during the present period of rapid change in their industry.

I want to define the manner of changes which have occurred, illustrate these by some specific examples of significant changes over that period in whole horticultural industries, in the management of individual crops and, finally, to draw attention to the consequences of these changes in research, extension and

WHERE IS THE NURSERY INDUSTRY GOING IN YEARS TO COME?

Author: Ian Gordon

PP: 509

The progress made in the Australian nursery industry over the past 25 years has been quite remarkable. There is no reason to suppose that this same rate of progress will not be maintained in the future but the industry will need to adapt to new social, cultural and economic situations which will exist in the future.

I have no crystal ball and am reluctant to predict what the future holds for the industry. Instead, I would like to pinpoint some of the areas where developments can be made in the industry. There are six which I think deserve attention: Education; Research and development; Business management; Nursery efficiency; Specialization; Marketing.

Education. Education and training are of vital importance at all levels within any industry, including the nursery industry. At management level there is a great need for more graduates who can integrate basic plant sciences and business efficiency to develop sound nursery production techniques. At supervisory level there is a need

GREENHOUSES

Author: Margaret E. McKay

PP: 514

The purpose of a greenhouse is to provide protection for crops from climatic extremes such as rainfall, hail and temperature. In general the greater the degree of protection provided the higher is the cost of this protection.

There are so many different types of greenhouse structures, covering materials and accessory systems for environmental control that it is difficult to decide what is the best to use in any given situation. The decision is a compromise of many factors including the crop or crops to be grown in the greenhouse, their management, environmental requirements, the climatic conditions in the area where the greenhouse is to be built, the availability of capital and the cost of maintenance of the greenhouse.

A greenhouse can be designed specifically for one crop or so that it remains flexible and can be used for several different types of crops, should the economic viability of the enterprise change. Certain aspects of crop management such as the arrangement of beds

DESIGN CRITERIA FOR LIGHT ADMISSION

Author: Mervin Earl Dunn

PP: 518

Plants do not live by light alone. There are other factors which affect their performance, among which are air, water and nutrients. But it is to the intensity of light that the levels of supply of all these other factors must be balanced.

So if the intensity of light which is admitted to the planthouse can be automatically adjusted to the "ideal" intensity at all times, it becomes easier to maintain the levels of supply of the other factors (air, water and nutrients), in balance with the intensity of light and in balance with each other. Rewards measured by the plant's performance will follow accordingly. The intensity of light applied to the plants is, therefore, the prime item for consideration in planthouse design.

To every plant on earth Nature provides an ever-changing intensity of the sun's radiation — light. At any point on earth the sun's radiation is different every second of the day. It is different on every day of the year. It is also different at any two points on earth.

GREENHOUSE COVERING — WHAT CAN BE USED?

Author: Alan J. Newport

PP: 524

The number of greenhouse covers are almost as varied as the crops grown within. Some of the covers are polythene (polyethylene), both ultraviolet inhibited and, for short term crops, non-treated material, clear polyvinyl chloride, Mylar (Dupont), certain nylon reinforced polythene vinyl sheets (e.g. polyscrim).

In the rigid sheet we have polyvinyl chloride (e.g. Vinlon Tuflite), acrylic and, of course, fibreglass, either with or without tedlar (Dupont) coating. There are, of course, variations of these and other materials. Finally there is glass.

The following more common materials being used will be discussed, namely glass, fibreglass, rigid P.V.C., and polythene. In these we have a range of coverings that will meet the needs of growers over the whole of the climatic regions of the continent and the horticultural crops they grow. They also represent the materials currently most widely used.

Glass. The oldest covering used in horticulture and, in Australia, still one of the most

LIGHT EFFECTS ON PLANTS

Author: L.G. Paleg, D. Aspinall

PP: 527

What we call light comes to us from the sun and is the product of countless nuclear reactions occurring on the sun's surface. Each second the sun emits energy equivalent to 1 million times all of the known and used supplies of the earth's coal, natural gas and petroleum. The energy produced by the sun passes through space as electromagnetic radiation of varying wavelengths and the spectrum of much of it is indicated in Figure 1. In relation to the total energy spectrum, the visible portion is quite small. Because of the relative size of the earth and its distance from the sun we receive only a small proportion of the energy emitted by the sun; two very obvious ways in which it is utilized is in heating our atmosphere and in stimulating and controlling plant growth.
TOP GRAFTING OF ACER PSEUDOPLATANUS ‘BRILLIANTISSIMUM’

Author: Leslie Morgan

PP: 63

In 1975 I was asked to produce a small quantity of Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Brilliantissimum’ trees by the management for their retail outlet.

Understocks. I had no potted Acer pseudoplatanus understocks available at the time so I had to use three-year-old seedlings dug straight from the field, prior to grafting.

Scion Material. My scion material was in short supply, mainly because this tree had always been bought in before. I had one 10-year-old tree available at the nursery and had also found a much older specimen in a nearby village. The scion material was one-year-old wood and it was treated in two different ways. Material off the young plant was cut in mid-winter and heeled-in in peat and sand in an outside open frame. Material off the older plant was cut just before grafting.

Grafting Procedure. I grafted Acer pseudoplatanus ‘Brilliantissimum’ in mid-February. The method I used was the splice graft. This is a very simple graft — just like the whip and tongue without the tongue. First the

THE USE OF SAWDUST AS A GROWING MEDIUM

Author: Peter E. Albery

PP: 537

The word "sawdust" is simple, but complexities arise when the grower finds that variables are present when using sawdust, and that one cannot copy another grower's "recipe" and have immediate success (not usually anyway). Some of these variables are:
    Initial pH of the sawdust; age source, i.e., tree type and
    area from which it comes; particle size; sensitivity of
    the crop to be grown in it; length of time the plant is to
    be grown in it before planting out, etc.; pot shape (sur-
    face area in relationship to depth); temperature of
    medium at planting time; composting procedure; mix-
    ing procedure; local environment conditions, e.g. evap-
    oration rate, rainfall, etc., and quality of irrigation wa-
    ter; and, very important, the method and approach of
    fertility maintenance.

When one discovers these variables from practical experience, it must be realized that the grower should be prepared to put into operation his own experiments. Much good information has come from various research workers here in

PREPARATION OF BARK POTTING MIXES

Author: Ray Wadewitz

PP: 538

We first started using bark as a component in our potting mix in a small way, using a shovel to mix it by hand. As it proved to be a successful mix and its usage increased, a paddle type cement mixer was used for mixing. Finally we have gone to a front end loader for mixing to fulfill our own requirements and for custom mixing of media for others.

Our present system is as follows: Bark is transported from the mill to Adelaide in 78 cu.yd. loads. It is hammer milled and screened into four sizes for use in landscaping and nursery potting media. To make the media, the fine screening spread on the ground and sand or loam is added according to the specific requirements of the client. This is mixed by a series of picking up and dropping with the front end loader. This mix is returned to the vibrating screener and the required amount of premixed fertilizer is added to the top and vibrated down through the mix. To reduce the dust problem and improve handling of the mix, water can be added to

COMMERCIAL APPLICATION OF TISSUE CULTURE IN ORCHID NURSERIES

Author: Syd Monkhouse

PP: 539

Since 1960 tissue culture has revolutionized the orchid industry, both in making top show cultivars available in great quantity and also in revolutionizing the cut flower section of this industry. French tissuecultirist, Prof. Georges Morel, together with the orchid firm of Vacherot and Lecoufle, realized the commercial prospects in this field and quickly established the first orchid tissue culture commercial laboratory in the world from which they produced plant divisions by meristematic tissue culture and offered them for sale. The word, "mericlone", was coined to describe plants propagated by this method. This has been a most successful venture for this French firm and naturally most other orchid propagating nurseries in the world have followed suit.

Further advances in tissue culture technique have enabled the production of virus-free plants from infected stock; however, this expensive process has been limited to very few cultivars. With tissue culture for virus eradication in

REPORT OF I.P.P.S. TOUR OF ENGLAND AND EUROPE

Author: Peter B. Smith

PP: 541

A tour of 4 weeks duration departed Australia for London in May 1977; 33 members of the Australian Region of I.P.P.S. participated. Countries visited include England, Germany, Denmark, Holland and France. The majority of tour members took the opportunity to take individual side tours before returning to Australia. We visited wholesale and retail nurseries, horticultural research institutions, colleges of horticulture, commercial horticultural laboratories, ornamental trial and foundation gardens, educational exhibition gardens and some truly magnificent examples of both formal and informal landscaping.

The two major highlights for me personally were Boskoop, Holland and Giesenheim, Germany, Boskoop being the birthplace of so many of our propagating techniques. This district has supported a nursery industry for more than 500 years, with some 400 open ground nurseries. The Viticultural Research Station in Giesenheim in the Rhine Valley is the Mecca of grapevine breeders and

A WORLD TOUR OF COMMERCIAL NURSERIES USING TISSUE CULTURE PROPAGATION

Author: R.A. de Fossard

PP: 542

Tissue Culture Propagation Overseas is Expensive. One over-riding impression that I gained from visiting nurseries using tissue culture techniques was the large financial investments made in them and the apparent lack of thought and planning relative to cost-cutting methods. Investments of $50,000 were common and several nurseries had invested in excess of $100,000. The nurseries I had visited were, ipso facto, still in business and according to them business was not only good, it was very good, The majority of these nurseries tissue culture propagated for themselves, i.e. plants from culture were potted up in their nursery section and sold along with plants propagated by other means. One nursery that I visited propagated all of its plants by tissue culture; most nurseries propagated part only of their plants by tissue culture.

The two most expensive parts of tissue culture propagation facilities were the inoculating and incubating areas. Whereas some had designed, or bought, relatively

PROGRESS TOWARD CLONAL PROPAGATION OF EUCALYPTUS SPECIES BY TISSUE CULTURE TECHNIQUES

Author: Pamela K. Barker, R.A. de Fossard, R.A. Bourne

PP: 546

Large numbers of clonal trees of eucalyptus species have been obtained by culturing nodes of seedling or coppice material. Adult nodes of two species have successfully produced multiple buds. Shoot systems have been established from such buds and research is being directed towards the establishment of healthy plants by inducing these shoots to form roots.

Culture media are discussed and the composition of the most successful media for the production of multiple buds and for rooting are given.

Problems concerning microbial contamination of field collected material are discussed and methods for reducing consequent losses are suggested.

A routine for the establishment of test tube plants in soil described.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF GLASSHOUSE PESTS

Author: Noel L. Richardson

PP: 557

Sufficient information is now available about the biological control of glasshouse pests for it to be developed commercially as a management practice. Not only would such a scheme reduce the occupational hazards of the glasshouse worker to toxic chemical substances to which he is frequently exposed but it should also result in an increase in plant growth. It has also been the experience of European glasshouse growers that it results in more effective control because the dense planting makes adequate coverage of high volume sprays difficult.

The most persistent pests in glasshouse in southern Australia are the greenhouse white-fly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood), the long-tailed mealy bug (Pseudococcus longispinus Targ.), and two spotted spider mite (red spider) (Tetranychus urticae Koch). At times, aphids, usually the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzar), can also be a problem. Many and various insecticides are recommended and used regularly against one or more of these pests.

PROPAGATION OF DAPHNE ODORA

Author: William C. Poynton

PP: 561

The most important aspect of Daphne propagation is the use of clean healthy stock plants. Spraying regularly with systemic fungicides and insecticides is essential. Also a regular fertilizing program is necessary. The fertilizer must contain trace elements.

Cuttings are taken from the 1st week in September (spring) to the 1st week in April (mid-autumn), using a very sharp knife or razor blade. I recommend a throw-away Stanley knife.

Soft cuttings taken are 1 to 3 cm in length not including leaves. As each cutting is taken it is submerged in a bucket of warm Benlate solution of recommended strength for up to 10 minutes. Cuttings are transferred to 10" pot to drain where they may be left up to 24 hours.

The next step is to remove the bottom leaves carefully by pulling them off (not cutting off).

Cuttings are then placed in copper naphthenate-treated Victorian seedling boxes (flats) containing a mixture of 25% peat and 75% sand with 64 well-spaced cuttings to a box. They are watered in with

ROSE ROOTSTOCK, ‘DR. HUEY’, IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Author: Deane M. Ross

PP: 562

South Australia is one of the main rose producing states of the Commonwealth, especially in proportion to its population. According to the latest statistical collection in 1974–75, almost 600,000 rose plants were grown; over half of these were sent interstate. The traditional rootstocks have been Rosa indica major (commonly but incorrectly called ‘Boursalt’) for dwarf budding and R. canina for stem or standard production. Both of these rootstocks suffer from certain disadvantages. R. indica major can give very erratic bud-take during autumn budding and will sucker under some conditions. R. canina also suckers badly and gives unreliable strike of cuttings.

For these reasons, several South Australian growers are turning to the rootstock ‘Dr. Huey’ for both dwarf and stem production.

‘Dr. Huey’ was originally bred as a garden rose in 1914 by G.C. Thomas in California, U.S.A. and it was not until 1940 that its potential as a rootstock was recognized but by the early 1950s it was being grown as

HARDWOOD CUTTINGS — FIELD PRODUCTION

Author: Nat Clayton, John Richardson

PP: 64

Production Lists. These are made up bearing in mind what we think we can sell, what we need for growing on, and the amount of land available. Four lists are made — two for office records and one each for the propagator and planting foreman. There has been an increased demand for Sambucus, Symphoricarpos, bush Salix, and Populus over the last few years for screening and planting industrial sites. Land has now become our most limiting factor against increased production.

Cuttings. Cuttings are taken from stock hedges or any other source available. They are made approximately 6" long of one year wood, the material being no thinner than a pencil. Thicker material makes the better plants eventually. We start with Sambucus as soon as possible in late October and November as these cuttings are from hedges which will be cut by a contractor as soon as the sugar beets have been harvested. The Sambucus cuttings are the only ones cut deliberately to nodes as the inter-nodal length is so variable.

EFFECT OF SPACING ON THE ROOTING OF CHAMAECYPARIS

Author: J.C. Kelly

PP: 67

In an attempt to maximize production from a given area of heated propagation bench, it is common practice for plant propagators to space cuttings densely. The close spacing of cuttings of cultivars of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana reduced rooting and the results show that this was wasteful of labour and propagating material. Less densely placed cuttings showed satisfactory rooting and a lower death rate.
SCALE PROPAGATION OF LILIES WITH CONTROLLED TEMPERATURE STORAGE

Author: J. Eaton

PP: 69

Lily bulbs are produced on a field scale at Rosewarne Experimental Horticulture Station, Cambourne, Cornwall. As the large bulbs are sold off, small bulbs must be raised each year for replanting and the best method is by scaling. Any lily grower, large or small, can use this simple method which is both fascinating and offers the means of rapidly increasing your stock of bulbs. The method is as follows:

Do the scaling in September or October. Select only the largest bulbs for scaling as these are the most likely to be healthy. Pull away the outer scales snapping them away from the bulb near the base. Discard any damaged or diseased scales and you can replant the center portion of the old bulb. Treat the scales with fungicide by soaking for &frac12 hour in Benlate (4 grams/litre) or in Captafol if Benlate-resistant penicilliums are likely to be present. Drain off and mix scales with an equal quantity of damp vermiculite or peat and seal up in a polythene bag. Use not more than about 2 bulbs

DOUBLE TUNNEL PROPAGATION

Author: S. Ward

PP: 70

Recent increases in oil and electricity prices have considerably raised the production costs of shrubs using traditional techniques. Glasshouse management, especially programmes involving the use of intermittent mist, have had to be reviewed in economic terms so that maximum returns can be achieved. Any alternative techniques requiring lower capital investment and incurring lower running costs have therefore become attractive.

At Loughgall our interest turned to polythene as an acceptable alternative in terms of economic attractiveness. As a result of many variations on the theme we developed a simple and cheap method using the basic concept of small "inner" tunnels constructed inside a large tunnel giving the Double Tunnel effect. Over a number of seasons several combinations of milky and clear UVI polythene have been tried. Experience and results gained at Loughgall made it possible for a propagation programme to be recommended. Local growers adopted this technique with considerable

SEEDLING OAK PRODUCTION IN CONTAINERS

Author: Pete Wells

PP: 75

Species of oak grown are: Quercus robur (Common oak or Pedunculate oak) 80%; Quercus petraea (Sessile oak) 5%; Quercus rubra (Red oak) 5%; Quercus ilex (Evergreen oak) 5%; Quercus cerris (Turkey oak) 5%.

WHY GROW THEM?

To fulfill the demand. E.F.G. produces up to 100,000 units per annum; there is little promotion of the product and I am sure there is scope for further development.

REASONS FOR THE DEMAND.

Vegetational Climax. The planners are attempting to recreate the vegetational climax of which the oak is the classic example in Great Britain. The Sessile oak being dominant on the acid soils in the west and north and the Pedunculate oak dominating the vegetation on the basic soil of the south and east. Sessile and Common oak interbreed freely and there are numerous hybrids occurring naturally throughout Great Britain. One interesting fact about oak trees which supports the planners choice is that 287 different species of invertebrates are dependent upon the oak tree at some

A PERSONAL VIEW OF THE ROLE OF A PROPAGATION RESEARCH WORKER

Author: B.H. Howard

PP: 78

Within the limits of their terms of reference the attitudes of research workers to applied research topics are coloured partly by their interest in the science of their subject and partly by their interest in the problems of the industry they serve. It does not follow that a science bias or an industry bias or even a middle of the road approach is necessarily best, but it is inescapable that the research worker serves two masters. His scientist overlords will assess his work on its scientific content and hopefully also will judge its value in the horticultural context. Nurserymen are exceptional if they concern themselves with the underlying science, understandably they want a technique which can be explained in precise terms so as to be able to judge its usefulness against the wide range of other interacting factors in nursery management, but they are prepared to leave the collecting of the relevant data and its interpretation to the scientist.

Division of labour. Horticulture is

EFFECT OF TWO TEMPERATURE REGIMES ON ROOTING CUTTINGS

Author: J.G.D. Lamb

PP: 35

Cuttings of 19 different genera and cultivars were rooted by the warm bench and plastic system. The base temperature was thermostatically controlled at 21–24°C. The air temperature was 15.6°C minimum. In most cases rooting was as good or better when the heating current was cut off for 12 hours daily than when it was available for 24 hours, with economy in cost of electricity.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN GREENHOUSE COOLING, VENTILATION, INSULATION AND AIR POLLUTION CONTROL

Author: Paul W. Moore

PP: 87

Several research projects conducted at the University of California Agricultural Experiment Station at Riverside required greenhouse facilities which have reasonably narrow temperature controls and air purification systems for protecting plants against smog damage. This report describes the application of some innovative equipment, both old and new, which have not been generally used in greenhouse facilities but which appear to be superior to "standard" greenhouse components.

Greenhouse Cooling. Cooling is essential at Riverside where summer dry bulb temperatures exceed 100°F several days per year. The standard evaporative cooling system available from greenhouse manufacturers utilize vertical excelsior pads and exhaust fans. Disadvantages of the vertical (upright) pad systems are:

  1. After a few months use, voids develop in the pads which allow uncooled air to move into the greenhouse, thereby reducing the cooling efficiency of the system.
  2. To maintain reasonable efficiency, pads must be changed
SANITATION IN PLANT PROPAGATION

Author: Arthur H. McCain

PP: 91

In 1957, the U.C. Manual 23, U.C. System for Producing Healthy Container-Grown Plants (1) was published. It cost one dollar and was reprinted at least once. It is now out of print and in need of revision because of changes in pesticide registrations and other changes. But the information about plant diseases has not changed significantly. One section, "A Nursery Sanitation Code" by Kenneth Baker, is as good a guide now as it was 20 years ago. I would like to discuss this section explaining and commenting on the code which appears on pages 22 and 23.

There are two main sources of plant-disease causal organisms: infected plant parts, and infested soil. Reproductive or survival units (spores, sclerotia, etc.), referred to as inoculum, may be present in soil or produced on diseased plants. The inoculum can spread or be disseminated (transported) in various ways. A knowledge of the various dissemination methods will help the propagator understand the need for

DECOMPOSITION RATE OF VARIOUS ORGANIC MATERIALS IN SOIL

Author: Roy L. Branson, James P. Martin, William A. Dost

PP: 94

INTRODUCTION

From an ecological viewpoint, it is important that organic materials decompose in soils. Elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon are released in forms that can be used by new generations of living things (1,5). Also, some products of decomposition have value in improving structure of some soils by aggregation of fine particles into larger crumb-like units that facilitate water movement and exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases, between soil and the air above it (6,7).

From the viewpoint of growers of ornamentals, however, who rely on synthetic soils, or soil mixes, organic materials used in preparing these media should be relatively resistant to decomposition. If not, there can be several undesirable effects: shrinkage of mix volume, changes in soil porosity that affect aeration, rapid utilization of oxygen by microorganisms making anaerobic conditions possible especially after irrigation, and nutrient upsets by competition of microorganisms with

PROPAGATION OF CACTUS

Author: Frank T. Fielding

PP: 101

Cactus are propagated by three major methods: seed, offsets, and cuttings.

SEED PROPAGATION

The majority of cactus species are propagated by seed. The seed is acquired from nursery stock or imported from Latin America. Seed propagation is the slowest method as most species are ready for market in not less than 14 months.

Special conditions must be met to be successful in see germination

Soil. A light soil mix that drains quickly is best. A commercial planting mix is preferred as it supplies all necessary nutrients as well as being of constant makeup.

Heat. Under-bench heating is needed to keep the soil temperature in the optimum range of 70° to 75°F. The greenhouse temperature should not exceed 100°F or drop below 46°F.

Benches. The benches must be sterile. Most any disinfectant can be used but longer lasting results are obtained by the use of copper compounds.

Shade. A greenhouse shade of approximately 50% is suitable

PROPAGATION AT MONROVIA NURSERY COMPANY: SANITATION

Author: Dennis Connor

PP: 102

CUTTING PROPAGATION

At Monrovia Nursery, we employ specific sanitation procedures in our propagation department to produce as healthy a plant as possible. I will discuss the propagation department at Monrovia with emphasis on our disease control program.

Most of our plants are grown from cuttings which are obtained from our own container grown stock or from planted out stock. Any pruning or cutting wood collecting of disease prone plants such as Euonymus, Pyracantha, Nerium, etc. must be sprayed 24 hrs in advance with 200 ppm Physan. This is accomplished with the use of our spray trucks or portable hose proportioners, depending upon the size of the area to be sprayed.

Cutting wood is collected by a crew of men and/or women, and placed in plastic bags for easy transport to the propagation department. New plastic bags are used to collect the cutting wood of disease prone plants. Bags that are re-used must be washed in 30 ppm chlorinated water prior to use. The bags can easily be cleaned

NEW VISTAS IN PLANT PROPAGATION

Author: Hudson T. Hartmann

PP: 106

The plant propagator and the nursery industry are in the most fortunate position of being able to benefit from the result of research in many disciplines and many applied fields.

Plant breeders are continually developing new plant material, some of which eventually becomes important in the nursery trade. Plant introduction programs and arboreta often bring in valuable new germplasm to be used directly, or as a gene source for introducing, by plant breeding, new characteristics into present plant material. The biochemists, plant physiologists, and botanist develop new growth regulators, herbicides, fertilizers, and such new techniques as tissue culture. They also study plant structure, adaptation to the environment, and plant functions, to give us a better understanding of plant behavior. Entomologists and plant pathologist develop new chemicals and new techniques for controlling insects and diseases, while the engineers design new propagation facilities and equipment used for such

SUBTROPICAL FRUIT TREE PRODUCTION: AVOCADO AS A CASE STUDY

Author: W.H. Brokaw

PP: 113

A general description of techniques in a modern commercial avocado tree nursery and a summary of special precautions for the prevention of infections by Phytophthora organisms, sunblotch virus, and Rhizoctonia are given. Also, a description of special procedures for seed storage and a recently patented method for producing grafted avocados on clonal rootstocks in described.
POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF PROTOPLASTS FOR FUTURE PLANT IMPROVEMENT

Author: Hirofumi Uchimiya

PP: 124

INTRODUCTION

Traditional plant breeding methods for commercial improvement of plants are restricted to hybridizing plants that are closely related. With few exceptions, hybrids combining desired qualities derived from both parents can only be made between different species of plants. These F1 hybrids are usually self-sterile and require doubling of the chromosomes before they can be used for further breeding purposes. Intergeneric hybrids are very rare. In recent times, some notable discoveries have come out of fundamental research on plant tissue cultures.

Some of these discoveries have already given rise to practical applications, such as embryo cultures of seeds, which would not otherwise germinate, to obtain rare hybrids, and creation of virus-free stock and rapid vegetative propagation of rare plants. Furthermore, production of haploid plants by anther culture and subsequent doubling of the chromosomes have provided pure line materials. More recently, special attention is being

TISSUE CULTURE OF FOLIAGE CROPS

Author: Gary C. Gallup

PP: 130

Tissue culture is a scientific extension of the foliage grower's propagation house. Many foliage items can utilize the rapid multiplication of the tissue culture laboratory at an economical and feasible expense.

The expense of tissue culture is very critical in certain types of foliage propagation. Certain items still may be grown cheaper and just as well in mother blocks in the greenhouse. These items then, even though may be technically possible in the lab, may not be economically feasible; i.e., we have found African violets to be cheaper to produce outside the laboratory.

Many of these non-economic, feasible laboratory propagations may be done in the lab for other reasons. One is to have pathogen-free stock to put out in greenhouse mother blocks. Another reason would be a new cultivar to multiply in the lab to gain sufficient numbers to build up a large mother stock block then take cuttings from the greenhouse stock.

We have found that most ferns are economically feasible to

CONIFER TISSUE CULTURE

Author: Zachary S. Wochok, Mostafa Abo El-Nil

PP: 131

Significant progress has been made during the last five years (1972–1977) in the commercial implementation of plant tissue culture technology; larger commercial nurseries have pioneered the application of this technology. More recently, several forest products industries have shown an interest in plant tissue culture. The current status of these forestry programs in conifer tissue culture, and some recent advances in basic technology, are reviewed.
STOCK PLANT MANAGEMENT

Author: John Stanley

PP: 37

The first stage in any production cycle is obtaining the propagation material of the right quality in the quantity required. As techniques become more exacting it is becoming increasingly important to have full control over propagation material from the earliest possible stages. This thinking has brought about an increasing awareness of the use of ornamental stock beds for vegetative propagation material and seed orchards for seed.

Sources of Vegetative Material. Cuttings can come from one of three sources:

  1. Saleable plants in the nursery. It is only feasible to take cuttings if this fits in with normal trimming, otherwise you may be cutting away saleable material.
  2. Plants outside your control. Many nurserymen still collect cuttings from local gardens, the wild and parkland areas. This material inevitably has an unknown history and often involves excessive labour and transport costs to obtain.
  3. Stock Beds/Hedges. The advantage of a stock area is that the history of the plant
WEED MANAGEMENT IN CONTAINER PLANT PRODUCTION

Author: Wesley A. Humphrey

PP: 140

Production on woody ornamentals in containers, free of weeds, is not a difficult task. Weeds compete with the desired plant and are costly to control when hand-weeding is the primary method used. To develop a weed-free nursery all one needs are: first, a desire and second, a program. Assuming the first, here is the program that needed:

  1. maintaining clean growing grounds;
  2. producing and/or purchasing liners or transplanting stock, free of weeds and weed seed; and
  3. maintaining the containers without weeds.

The last item will focused on here.

The use of pre-emergent herbicides is a major aid in getting the job done. This is indicated by:

  1. work that has been done on pre-emergent herbicides as an aid in reducing weed populations and competition in containers;
  2. the increasing availability of registered chemicals for this use;
  3. the success of several nurserymen in using pre-emergent herbicides as a major part of their program in maintaining a nursery relatively free of weeds; and
  4. the importance of supplying
INSECT PEST MANAGEMENT ON NEWLY ESTABLISHED PLANTS

Author: Ronald D. Oetting

PP: 141

The management of pest populations on propagation plants is similar to that utilized on all ornamental plants. There are characteristics of newly rooted plants that do isolate them from the control methods which are used on more established plants. One of these characteristics of the newly rooted plant is it has greater sensitivity to some chemicals because of the lack of an established root system. But basically the approach to insect and mite control is the same. The demand for insect-free and damage-free plants has resulted in the utilization of stringent control programs relying primarily on the use of chemicals. An ornamental plant is purchased by the consumer because of its aesthetic qualities and any reduction in the quality results in a product which is hard to market. As a result, pesticides have been the easiest and most effective tool in keeping anthropod pests in check and they will continue to play an important role in pest management in the future. Effective insecticides
ENTOMOLOGY IN THE PRODUCTION NURSERY

Author: George P. Gutman

PP: 148

Whether a large scale production nursery or a small ornamental plant grower, both parties should have basically the same philosophy in their approach to entomological problems. This philosophy is dictated by the economics of the ornamental plant itself. Most ornamental are sold on one fact; their eye appeal or their beauty. Ornamental plants must be kept cosmetically clean; hence one could call the control of insect pests in the ornamental nursery cosmetic entomology. It makes little difference if you are concerned in your individual nursery with one particular insect pest or 100 different species. There are some basic guidelines one can follow to effect a fairly efficient control procedure which can be applied to almost every insect problem that may occur. Anyone engaged in the elimination of insect pests for an ornamental nursery probably follows the same set of principles I am about to elaborate on, although he may not have stopped to evaluate his own procedures. I have found the
THE IPPS … WHAT IT IS

Author: John Machen

PP: 154

This is our first meeting — the inaugural meeting of the Southern Region of IPPS. We need members — from this group and from those who are not here today — who will join us and share their knowledge and their enthusiasm to make this Society outstanding. We would like to take a few minutes this morning to talk about IPPS — what is stands for, how it functions as an international group and how it came to be the outstanding Society that it is today. We have two eminently qualified speakers who will address themselves to the question of "What is the IPPS?"; Bill Curtis, Sherwood, Oregon, and Jim Wells, Red Bank, New Jersey. Both of these people have really been there in IPPS — they have been president and vice president of their individual Regions and president of the IPPS. Mr. Wells was one of the founding members of the IPPS and its first president. These two gentlemen are going to address us on the history of the society, the rules and the procedures of the society in a discussion format.
PROPAGATION AND LINER PRODUCTION OF AZALEAS

Author: Hunter H. Boulo

PP: 160

Since there are almost as many ways to root cuttings and grow plants as there are nurserymen, I will not try to tell you how it should be done, but will tell you what we do at Cottage Hill Nursery. First and foremost — whatever method one uses in propagation — sanitation and cleanliness are a must if it is to be at all successful. This begins with the stock from which the cuttings are to be taken. Stock plants must be healthy and free from disease. The clippers or knives used to make the cuttings and the baskets or boxes used to hold cuttings must be clean. The area in which the cuttings are processed, the greenhouse or area in which the cuttings are placed for rooting, the rooting medium, and the benches or containers in which the medium is placed — all of these should be disinfected and/or sprayed down with a fungicide to eliminate contamination from any residue from previous crops.

The greater part of our propagation is done under saran shade or lath shade (50–60% shade). Only in the

AZALEA PRODUCTION FOR THE FLORIST MARKET

Author: Zack Westbrook

PP: 163

Azaleas for the florist market are usually acquired by one of three procedures:
  1. Growing on of large well-established potted or bed-grown liners. Cultivars are usually selected from the Belgian Indicas, Rutherfordianas, Pericats or F1 Hybrids.
  2. Purchase of hardy types in the fall (usually Kurumes) but including some cultivars as mentioned in number one.
  3. Growing plants from cutting or liner stage to market size in a continuous year-round cycle. Growers of this nature usually have cold storage facilities for breaking dormancy to allow for year-round flowering. They may force the plants into bloom themselves or sell in a budded stage for forcing.

My comments today will deal primarily with the third method. To grow plants on a year-round cycle and of a quality which is acceptable to the florist industry requires some additional equipment and investment compared to acquiring them by either of the other two methods mentioned.

Growing structures. To control temperatures so as to produce

AZALEA PRODUCTION FOR THE GARDEN CENTER AND THE LANDSCAPE MARKET

Author: Fount H. May

PP: 167

We have, during the past five years, leaned our plant production towards the Garden Center and Landscape Gardener, and azaleas have been a major part of our total production.

Three types of plastic houses are used in our propagation of azaleas. Some have spray mist but most now have controlled water sprinklers. Prior to sticking the cuttings in June and July we clean the houses, then fill each house with 3 inch cups, using a medium of pine bark, peat and sand. Though the soil is sterile, we will give the filled containers a shot of fungicide before sticking, if time permits. Cuttings of abot 3-½ inches are then obtained, rinsed in fungicide, dipped in Hormodin #1, and stuck 2 to the cup. Azaleas produced are Kurumes and Indicas. We start our controlled water on a 3-½ minute to 4 second cycle. At the first sign of any roots we then lengthen to a 7 minute – 6 second cycle. With further root growth we reduce to 15, then 30 minutes, then off. During this period we spray twice weekly with

FACTORS INFLUENCING HERBICIDAL ACTIVITY

Author: P.L. Neel

PP: 172

Inasmuch as we are concerned with ornamental plants or dooryard fruits rather than commercial food and fiber crops I shall limit my remarks to those factors and those herbicides of potential interest relative to their use in nursery production situations. Before I proceed further, I must point out that it is illegal to use any pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its label recommendations, under penalty of law. Herbicides are classified as pesticides under EPA regulations and no herbicide is currently registered for use on container-grown ornamentals, while only a few are recommended for use on certain field-grown stock or established landscape plantings. Nevertheless, there are several herbicides which have been used experimentally on many container or field-grown species safely and efficaciously. We should not, however, forget that there are other methods for effectively controlling weeds or reducing their numbers; a herbicide program should be integrated with these and not solely
HERBICIDES FOR NON-CROP AREAS

Author: Charles H. Parkerson

PP: 176

Weeds in the aisles, along edges of growing beds, around buildings, and along fence rows are unnecessary and detrimental. The immediate effect is an unsightly, appearance of uncleanliness; weeds cost money, harbor insects and diseases, and are a wonderful source of seed for your container stock.

Our nursery is similar to yours in many ways but vitally different in many respects. What I am about to share with you works for us, in our particular micro-climate. What I do may work for you … but it may not, so check it out first. I am sure that most of you are in the same position that we are in … everything that you own is sitting out in the field, so run your own trials before spraying a chemical that you have heard or read about. The herbicides we use only work when applied in a timely and accurate manner. In general we use the following chemicals for weed control in noncrop areas: Pramitol 25E, Paraquat CL, and Roundup.

Paramitol 25E. This chemical is a soil sterilant causing the

AFTER TRIALS WITH HERBICIDES, A DECISION IS MADE

Author: Curtis W. Wilkins, Grady L. Wadsworth

PP: 178

Nine herbicides were evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing weed growth in twenty cultivars of containerized nursery stock. Alachlor at 4 lb ai/A and 6 lb ai/A and 4 lb ai/A showed generally the least amount of phytotoxicity but also demonstrated the poorest weed control of all nine herbicides evaluated. Profluralin at 6 lb ai/A and 9 lb ai/A gave fair weed control and only slight damage to the plant materials. Test with napropamide at 6 lb ai/A and 8 lb ai/A indicated fair to poor weed control followed by moderate damage. The combination of alachlor at 4 lb ai/A and 6 lb ai/A with trifluralin at 4 lb ai/A and 6 lb ai/A, respectively, demonstrated moderately effective weed control with slight to moderate plant damage. Oxadiazon at 2 lb ai/A and 4 lb ai/A in granular, wettable, powder, and emulsifiable concentrate forms showed excellent weed control, but also moderate to excessive damage to nursery stock. Alachlor at 4 lb ai/A and 6 lb ai/A combined with simazine at 1 lb ai/A and 1.5 lb ai/A, respectively, gave poor weed control with only one application during the growing season. However, with two applications weed control was excellent, but damage was excessive.
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PLANT HOSTA FORTUNEI ‘AUREO MACULATA’ (‘ALBOPICTA’) TO FIND RAPID METHODS OF PROPAGATION

Author: Lila W. Dick

PP: 43

As hostas are valuable ground cover plants and also in demand for flower arrangers, it was decided to look at this plant from a propagation viewpoint. The work was a practical project carried out with 5 BSc III degree students at the West of Scotland College over 10 hours of the October-December Term (the rest of the practical work being carried out by nursery staff). We found very few references to the propagation of hostas and relied on the R.H.S. Dictionary for basic information (1). Hostas are named after the Austrian Botanist Nicolaus Thomas Host (1761–1834) and the plant belongs to the family Liliaceae.

Methods of Propagation

  1. Seed. As H. fortunei does not set seed regularly and progeny would not be true-to-type, we discounted this method.
  2. Division, the usual method of increasing hostas. Five plants were lifted on 13th October, soil washed from them, placed in peat and put in the cold store (4–6°C; 90–100° R.H.) for 50 days (to simulate the winter dormant period). On December 2nd the
WEED CONTROL IN FIELD NURSERY STOCK

Author: Bryson L. James

PP: 185

Successful weed control requires an aggressive program directed toward eradication, prevention and control. Emphasis should be placed on aggressive because anything less than an all-out attack will not subdue our weed enemy.

Half-heartedly waging war on weeds is expensive and usually leaves our fields miserably infested with weeds. Perhaps it will help to emphasize key points in this review if we can compare tactics and terms used by the military to those needed to successfully fight weeds. Keep in mind that the object is to destroy the enemy while providing safety for your own troops.

LARGE PLANTS IN CONTAINERS

Author: George L. Taber III

PP: 196

Possibly I should first define "large plants in containers". These are plants that are produced in a manufactured container of at least a 4-gallon capacity. We are currently propagating 90% of the liners we use. From the day the propagation list is prepared, an attempt is made to plan the course of this liner as it moves from the propagation bed to its final planting in the container where it will be grown to maturity. As an example, if our ultimate goal is to inventory 20,000 4-gallon canned Ilex and 5,000 15-gallon canned Ilex, we will then shift 20,000 rooted cuttings from the propagation bed to pint containers and 5,000 rooted cuttings into 2-gallon containers. These will be staged in holding areas apart from the main growing area and will then be shifted into their respective 4 and 15-gallon containers for growing on. As you can see, there is only one shift process involved and a minimum of handling. Likewise, in planning for 20-24" boxes, we will stage 4 and 7-gallon stock in the
WILDWOOD NURSERIES PROGRAM

Author: Earle R. Marvin

PP: 198

I would like to discuss our methods of marketing field-grown plant materials. We use what is called a field-to-can method of marketing and harvesting our plant material. This basically means we dig our plants out the field, put them in containers and allow them to root sufficiently for transportation to site of sales or planting. We are an old nursery trying to learn a new method of plant production. We do not have, or claim to have, all of the answers. All I can do is share with you some of our ideas and some of the things we are trying to do and learn.

Our plants are planted 18" apart in 4' rows. We plant two rows of plant material and leave one row vacant for harvesting. We start our field program by fumigating all of our acreage before planting with methyl bromide. This assures a good start for young trees and shrubs, free from weeds and soil insects. We have what is classified as Goldsboro type soil, which is fairly sandy but contains sufficient amount of clay to permit this type of

SOME WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS FACED BY HORTICULTURISTS

Author: Charles R. Johnson

PP: 202

Water quality is a subject of major concern to all horticulturists. Water problems to nurserymen in coastal areas relate to salt intrusion into wells and heavy salt drift, but in urban areas nurserymen are faced with high levels of chloride (Cl) and fluoride (F) in domestic water supplies. Many water resources are contaminated with numerous organic and inorganic compounds such as proteins, detergents and pesticides, which can be lethal and often serve as substrates for pathogens and other undesirable biological growth. All forms of contamination cause economic losses in nurseries by poor plant growth or death.

Soluble salts (SS) are chemical compounds formed when base ions combine with acid ions to form neutral salts. Some examples of base ions are calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) and potassium (K). Acid ions include sulfate (SO4), bicarbonate (CHO3) and chlorine (Cl). Problems of salinity arise when SS reach damaging concentrations in irrigation water and media.

Monitoring of

WATERING PLANTS

Author: Geral Smith

PP: 207

Of all the problems that I observe in visits to container nurseries, the most frequently encountered and the most serious are those related to the plant's root system. We can only make money in container nursery production by achieving accelerated plant growth. To accomplish accelerated plant growth it is necessary that the root system be continuously growing and functioning. Perhaps half of the root system of a shrub can be non-functioning, yet the plant can remain green and appear healthy. However, it will not continue growth at an accelerated rate.

We are attempting to achieve a balance in our potting mixes between the air and water content. Any grower that is producing high quality plants in a short period of time is achieving this balance.

A plant in a container is in a very different environment as compared with the same plant in the ground. In the ground it has a root system covering a larger area; thus it can obtain water and oxygen from a very large soil volume. When the plant

SOIL STRUCTURE RELATIONSHIPS … SOIL … WATER … PLANTS … IN CONTAINER GROWN ORNAMENTALS

Author: Grady L. Wadsworth

PP: 210

There are wide and varying types of media that have proven successful in the growing of container ornamentals. If we checked with the many successful nurseries we would find a tremendous range of growing media being utilized. However, three important aspects would have been satisfied. Those are 1) aeration, 2) water holding capacity, and 3) nutrient holding capacity {2,3,6}. The key to success is learning to combine proper cultural practices with the particular mix one has chosen. However, there are many factors to consider when selecting a growing medium.

Climatic Conditions. What is the rainfall, temperature (diurnal fluctuation), length of growing season, humidity, wind and day length like in the area where the plants will be grown? California nurseries, for example, are afforded an opportunity to use more native soil in their mixes, due to their low rainfall, than nurseries in the southeastern states (6). Of course, these are variables we have little or no control over, unless we

SOIL ADDITIVES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF WATER RELATIONSHIPS

Author: James Fountain

PP: 215

Soil drainage influences soil color; state of oxidation of iron, manganese, nitrogen, sulfur, and other elements; soil acidity; type and activity of microorganisms, production of certain toxic substances; and soil temperature. Poor drainage of many soils has encouraged consideration of several additives for the improvement of water relationships. Gypsum (Ca SO4·2H2O) has been found to be an excellent material for use in maintaining soils in good structural condition and for reclaiming structure in soils where poor structural conditions exist.
TEMPERATURE MANIPULATION USING WATER

Author: Richard Marshall

PP: 219

Temperature manipulation using water is a major concern of our nursery operation. We are located on the Eastern shore of Maryland and subject to frosts as early as the first part of October.

To explain why temperature manipulation using water is so important to us. I would mention that about 8 years ago we shifted our complete growing operation into wholesale production of broad-leaved evergreens. Our goal was to produce a full, dense, premium quality plant for the discriminating garden center and landscape contractor in the Northeastern United States.

We propagate practically all of our plants and grow them over the first winter in heated fiberglass houses. The transplants are lined out in raised beds the following spring, grown on for two or three years, then dug by hand and shipped in fiber containers.

These plants are vulnerable to frost and freeze damage, particularly the one year old plants. Distressed at severe damage from early fall frosts in 1968, we decided to

QUESTION BOX

Author: Bryson L. James

PP: 225

1. What effect does the use of systemics have on the rooting of cuttings? — (systemic insecticides, fungicides)

CHARLIE PARKERSON: We use Meta Systox-R and Benlate with success on Japanese holly and Junipers.

BRYSON JAMES: As far as effects on rootings and cuttings, has anyone experience with this? I know that work done at N.C. State a number of years ago showed no effect of materials sprayed on the foliage on rooting of cuttings; I've done some work on this and had similar results.

VOICE: Does this hold true with Benlate and Truban used on soils to prevent fungus diseases? I've heard some greenhouse operators say that these will affect rooting when used in soils.

BOB WRIGHT: With herbicides, we found no effect on cuttings unless the stock plants were damaged.

MIKE MCCALL: We use Banrot on all our cuttings and don't see any bad effects from it.

FIELD SEEDLING PRODUCTION OF CORNUS FLORIDA

Author: Don Shadow

PP: 233

Seedling propagation of Cornus florida is essential to our total dogwood production, and I will give the procedure we use in the field propagation method.

The seeds are gathered from local native stands by collectors and brought to our nursery, where they are purchased by the pound. They are then placed in 55-gallon barrels to soak for several days prior to cleaning with a mechanical seed cleaner. The most effective method for determining whether the berries are well ripened is to press them between the thumb and forefinger; if the seeds press out freely, they are ready to be picked.

After the berries are cleaned, the seeds are air dried on burlap for several days, depending upon weather conditions, and then hung in lots of 25 pounds until ready for planting or storing. We find this is a convenient amount to handle easily.

During the months of October and November, when weather permits, the seeds are planted in the open field in 54 inch rows which have been ridged up to 6 to 8

PRODUCTION OF EUCALYPTUS

Author: John J. Costin

PP: 44

The eucalyptus embody many of the desirable characteristics that a diligent plant breeder would endeavor to collect into one plant, if set the task of breeding a modern tree. They are evergreen, fast growing and virtually without pests and diseases in this country and have both amenity and forestry values. Nevertheless eucalyptus are not as widely planted as they should be. A popular misconception is that they are soft and will not grow in the greater area of the British Isles. Our experience suggest that with the proper seed provenance and exact cultural programme, excellent results can be obtained with eucalyptus.

Eucalyptus have many modern potential uses because of their rapid growth and evergreen canopy. They must be considered as a serious contender as a quick temporary replacement in areas ravaged by Dutch Elm Disease, or as a screen for industrial and mining sites, and in our parks where vandalism would only improve their growth. Species such as Eucalyptus vimnalis will

PROPAGATION OF DOGWOOD SEEDLINGS IN CONTAINERS

Author: Henry H. Chase Jr

PP: 234

Recently we have experimented with growing dogwood seedlings in small tube containers, hoping to improve the percentage of livability by taking the seedling to the field in its own pot. Two types of container-trays were used. One is heavy black plastic with 101 round cavities ½ inch by 4 inches, with 4 holes in the bottom of each cavity. The same type is currently being made with ridges to prevent roots from spiraling, as was the case in our smooth round tubes. The second type tray is made of styrofoam and has square cavities with one hole in the bottom of each cavity.

The mix was 2/3 finely ground pine bark and 1/3 sand, fumigated prior to filling the containers. Flats were filled by hand and shaken down to get an even compaction of the mix. Three cleaned seeds were sown in each cavity about November 1. The container trays were then placed on raised benches in open plastic houses. The house was left uncovered to provide cold stratification, then covered about March 1 as

FIELD BUDDING OF DOGWOOD

Author: Hubert Nicholson

PP: 236

Normally, field budding of dogwoods begins with us between August 1st and 15th, depending upon the seedlings' development. If transplanted seedlings are used, budding can be started earlier. We have found that thinning of seedlings to a stand of 10 to 12 to the foot is desirable. If this thinning is done early in the growing season, it speeds up the date budding can begin and gives a larger caliper seedling for budding. We have found early thinning of the seedling row without field irrigation is risky. As 90% or more of our dogwood are budded on field-grown seedlings, we will limit ourselves to budding on this type of seedling for now.

Under the best conditions field budding of dogwood is done on very tender seedlings, and it is very important to have budwood in a similar condition. For these small tender seedlings we want small tender budwood but firm enough to push into the seedling. A lot of skill and dexterity is required to handle these tender buds and tender seedlings. The first

PRODUCING DOGWOOD BY CUTTINGS

Author: Carl Bauer

PP: 238

We have been rooting dogwoods in the nursery for three years. Initially we were prompted by lack of competent budders. Also, we felt that rooting would possibly reduce some of the disease and virus problems, since there is no man-made wound. Rooting also appeared to be the logical answer since we are in the business of producing liners, and 95% of our other liners are from cuttings. I began by reading everything I could find on the subject. The best paper that I found was a graduate paper by Mr. Morris of Eva Nurseries, Eva, Alabama, which was written while he was a student at Auburn. I would like to state in the beginning that while we have been very successful in the rooting of dogwoods, we have developed no new technique.

Most of our work has been with softwood cuttings of current year's growth. Our work has been confined to cultivars that we normally produce: Cornus florida rubra, and C. florida cultivars: ‘Cherokee chief’, ‘Cherokee Princess’, ‘Cloud Nine’ and ‘First Lady’. We have

DOGWOOD LINER TO FINISHED PLANT

Author: Carl Fletcher Flemer III

PP: 240

As the speakers before me have attested, there are different ways to produce white and pink dogwood liners. Once at the liner stage, there are different ways to produce the finished plant. At Ingleside Plantation Nurseries we line out about 5,000 pinks and 10,000 whites each year, which are handled just alike.

We try to plant our dogwood liners around March 15 while they are still dormant. The best size liner is at least 12 inches in height, but not taller than 24 inches. Planting is done with a "homemade" one-row planter. Dogwood liners are planted in rows which are 6 feet wide. Plants are spaced either 18 or 24 inches apart within the row, 18 inches if they are to be grown for larger lining out stock, 24 inches if they will be sold as 4/5, 5/6 and 6/8 foot trees. Liners which are planted 18 inches apart are grown for two or three years until they are 4/5, 5/6 and 6/8 feet. Then they are dug bareroot and transplanted in 10 or 20 feet rows during December, January or February. Dogwoods

DOGWOOD DISEASES

Author: Robert C. Lambe

PP: 241

Disease may be an important factor in the production of salable flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.). Recently several different virus diseases have been reported by various researchers, but little is known about their impact on the production of dogwood. Historically, fungus diseases of the foliage, twigs, roots and trunks have been considered important. These diseases occur frequently under certain environmental conditions of excess rainfall and low temperatures. More recently a fungus root rot and trunk canker of undetermined cause have assumed important positions in the commercial production of dogwood.

Foliage Disease. Foliage diseases reported on C. florida have included leaf spots, blights, mildews, and viruses.

Ascochyta leaf spot, caused by Ascochyta cornicola Sacc., was first reported in 1942 by Hepting at Biltmore, North Carolina (7). Leaf spotting begins as early as mid-June, being characterized as round or slightly irregular areas, ranging in size from 1.5 to 6.5 mm in

TECHNIQUES OF JUNIPER GRAFTING

Author: Philip M. Hall

PP: 246

Grafting upright junipers is a year-round operation. While the actual grafting is done in Oklahoma only in the winter from about December 15 through March 1, there are many other items requiring attention throughout the year to produce the final product.

Understock. The first step is to build a good supply of understock. We use both Thuja orientalis and Juniperus chinensis ‘Hetzii’ as understock for upright junipers. Thuja orientalis, more popularly called biota, understock is grown from seed in open beds for 2 to 3 years. Seed is sown in early to mid-spring at a high density. In the fall of the following year we undercut the seed bed and selectively harvest the seedlings of a size acceptable for grafting. Oversize seedlings are discarded and undersize plants are left in the bed for one more year. After harvesting, the roots are trimmed back just enough to allow easy potting in a 3-inch round clay pot. We use these larger pots with Thuja in order to give more room to the plants when

FIELD PROPAGATION OF SEEDLINGS IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE

Author: Michael Hobbs

PP: 251

Seed beds. The term "seed bed" implies the preparation and cultivation of seedlings en mass, closely spaced, and cultivated intensively in a confined area. This practice is not generally carried out in this region except under greenhouse or hothouse conditions in the propagation of evergreen liners. Most seed propagation in this area is, and has traditionally been, the row type of cultivation, which differs very little from the other types of nursery cultivation.

Seed sources. The seeds used for propagation of the liners and understock used in this area come from several sources. The wild collected seeds are the oaks, dogwoods, maples and many others. There are more plant species native to the McMinnville area than in the Great Smoky Mountains, which explains why the Tennessee nursery industry originated in this area. The seeds are harvested at the proper time of the year by people commonly known as "seed collectors." The collectors are usually older people who are capable of knowing the

OPEN-FIELD PROPAGATION OF JUNIPERS

Author: David Byers

PP: 255

I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today to discuss the subject of outdoor propagation — open-field propagation — of hardwood juniper cuttings. The idea is not original with us, although it is original in the geographical area of our nursery. In the early 1920's, a firm known as D.E. and J.O. Kelly Nursery began propagating in this manner, and since that time, almost every nursery in the area has attempted it. Most have been fairly successful because it is a simple method. Now, not so many are doing it for two reasons: more people are using the more modern methods of propagation such as mist, and the lack of consumer demand for junipers seems to have slowed somewhat the need for propagation.

We are in the very center of North Alabama, Zone 7, where temperatures sometimes drop to zero, but ordinarily are not quite that cold. Overall we have a very moderate climate. We have a fraction over 50 inches of rainfall annually in normal years. Our soil is a heavy, red-clay type. I think

MIXING ROOTING HORMONES

Author: John Machen

PP: 259

By definition, "plant hormones" are chemicals occurring in living plant material that affect plant growth. Chemicals affecting growth that have not been isolated from living plant material are called "growth substances". For the purpose of this paper, both types of chemicals will be referred to as "hormones".

The process of mixing rooting hormones is a relatively new one, which affords the convenience of having on hand a wide range of concentrations and combinations of several rooting compounds. These various concentrations and combinations can, and should, be used to compare results produced on any given crop which is to be rooted in your nursery.

All of the compounds most commonly used as plant hormones are readily available from chemical supply houses (1) both in bulk or as pre-weighed samples. Naturally, the bulk material is least expensive.

Our first procedure deals with mixing rooting hormones with talc. I will use 3-indolebutyric acid (IBA), as an example. A brief look at the

COSTING AS A MOTIVATIONAL TOOL

Author: Earl H. Robinson

PP: 263

Can costs be effectively tracked in the nursery business? How can tracking costs help you on an everyday basis? How often do you take a look at costs? How about your supervisors? Why budget? Who creates your budget?

These are some questions I want to deal with here today. I have had the privilege of working side by side for the past two years with a CPA. He has devoted the last 8 years to developing and refining a cost accounting system that is simple enough to give daily information in running a nursery business and motivating supervisors in a positive way.

At American Garden Cole, budgeting and reporting are a way of life. If no useful benefit comes from this effort at the branch level and by the people reporting, this becomes a burdensome task.

American Garden Cole (Hamilton) is a container growing facility that has been developing over the past five years. The motivational aspect of costing actually begins with the preparing of a budget for the next fiscal year. Our budget is prepared

SOME OBSERVATIONS OF THE NURSERY INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA

Author: R.F. Martyr

PP: 48

The initiative for my six months visit to Australia came from the Queensland Nurserymen's Association; the reason was their concern about the absence of adequate training facilities for the nursery industry and the opportunity was provided by a temporary vacancy at the Queensland Agricultural College. The objective was to encourage and advise on setting up courses — particularly technical and technological courses — directed towards the needs of the nursery industry. Horticulture has a very low status in Australia — and the ornamental section is quite unrecognized as a potential career by educationists or school leavers.

Australia is a very large country, about the size of the U.S. but with only 13 million people. It is easy, therefore, for us over here to get the impression of a thinly spread rural community. Nothing is further from the truth. It is an overwhelmingly urban and suburban population. Brisbane, alone of the state capitals, has less than 50% of the whole

PRODUCTION OF LINERS FOR FIELD CULTURE

Author: Dennis V. McCloskey

PP: 265

There are numerous ways to root cuttings and germinate seed — most of you have selected a method that is most productive and profitable for your business.

This morning I would like to explain the method we use at Windmill Nurseries to produce liners and to transplant these to our field. All of our broadleaf liner production for the field is handled as follows:

First: The cuttings are rooted in metal flats or seed is germinated in flats. Our medium is composed of 17 4-cubic foot bags of perlite and one 6-cubic foot bale of peat moss. Depending on cultivar, from 150 to 500 cuttings are placed in each flat. Women do all of this work on an hourly wage basis. They take, strip and stick the cuttings. I am satisfied with a 2000 per day per worker average. Of course, this varies greatly; it is much higher on easier cuttings.

Second: The flats of cuttings are placed in the mist houses and handled accordingly. I will not go into detail as this subject has been discussed in other papers.

ORGANIZING CUTTING, LINER AND CONTAINER PRODUCTION

Author: Peter Van Der Giessen

PP: 267

Organization is the key word in production of cuttings, liners and containers at Cottage Hill Nursery. Without this many hours are wasted and it is nearly impossible to come up with a balanced production. About 3 years ago we began by dividing the nursery into sections, each designated by a letter. So instead of sending people to a general area we are now able to give them the exact location. Each section was divided into terraces, which were numbered. We figured the capacity of each terrace in order to know the total capacity of a section. The lath and green houses were numbered, enabling us to direct people without having to go over and show them the area personally.

Another step to cut down on wasted motion was labeling each group of plants so that everyone would know where to find the information in the field. The label on the first plant on the left hand side of each cultivar gives such information as number of plants, plant name, potting date, soil mix and feeding. Not only did

FIELD PRODUCTION OF AZALEAS

Author: Rob Hollings

PP: 269

Our method of field production of azaleas at Carolina Floral Nursery spans a time of about 18 months from when the liner is first planted until the finished plant is ready about two growing seasons later. We typically begin planting on the first Monday following the 20th of April.

Bed preparation is a very important process. In the summer preceding the spring planting, we apply limestone to the field at the rate of about 1000 to 3000 pounds per acre. Following that we plant a cover crop of sorghum, usually in August. Sorghum will get 7 or 8 feet tall in a matter of months. The purpose of planting sorghum is to put a lot of organic matter into the ground. Once we dig the azaleas, we must replace as much organic matter as possible. During the winter, we disc the field 3, 4 or maybe 5 times and also subsoil it. Subsoiling is really a very important step in this production to break up the pan that builds up year after year and allow drainage. Furthermore, cracking this hardpan allows

PRUNING AND TRAINING OF ORNAMENTAL NURSERY TREES

Author: William R. Studebaker

PP: 272

All of you know how to prune a tree. There are many books on the theory of correct pruning and training, from the proper cutting angle, to developing main scaffold branches, to the proper time of year to prune. The problem in most nurseries is that you don't have time to trim all or any of your trees yourself, and furthermore may not have time to spend several seasons working with someone, teaching them by example how to prune. What I would like to focus on today is developing some training aids to assist inexperienced pruners to do an acceptable job of pruning by your standards.

So first of all, what are your standards? You need to analyze:

  1. What is your market? Homeowners want full-headed low-branched trees for the corner of the yard, while municipalities want street trees limbed up 5 to 6 feet for clearance.
  2. At what size are you selling. A 1-&frac14-inch tree limbed to 6 foot height may have few, if any, lateral branches left to form a head.
  3. What are some growth characteristics of a
HOW SOIL CHEMISTRY CAN WORK FOR YOU

Author: George R. McVey

PP: 277

Developing maximum plant quality with minimum cost can only be realized by proper monitoring of the nutrient level in the soil. An understanding of the optimum nutrient levels and balance in the soil will prevent "hidden hunger" or phytotoxicity, which can happen to even the best grower of containerized nursery stock.

Proper selection of media is essential. A guaranteed supply of uniform ingredients (media and fertilizer) which will provide proper drainage and porosity is needed. Media containing heavy metals or other toxic compounds should be avoided.

A representative sample of each component in the mix and a composite sample of the final mixture, before any nutrients are added, should be submitted for analysis. The analysis of the individual components will provide information on which fraction is providing the most nutrients to the final product. Nutrients should be added to the medium based on the soil analysis. Excess or deficiency of nutrients can cause an imbalance, which can

FIELD FERTILIZATION PRACTICES

Author: Dick Ammon

PP: 284

Soils in the Cincinnati area are not ideal for agriculture. They are a clay loam top soil, which is rather shallow, with a heavy clay subsoil that is very slow to percolate. Nurseries in our area are much delayed for spring digging because of the wet soil. Our nursery is located on the highest point in our county. It is slightly rolling ridge land, and still drainage is a problem. The fertility of the soil is poor, and unless we apply ample fertilizer, the nutrients are not there. Now, with all this against our soils, we do find some bright sides. We have no rock until we get 9 feet deep and, if the nursery business is not profitable, the land is very valuable for development! Our biggest claim to fame is that we can successfully transplant trees even in the summer months. We contribute this to the heavy clay soils having nothing to offer any further down. There are ample moisture and nutrients near the surface if we apply them properly, and the root system has no reason to grow a long
PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANT TOPS DURING WINTER

Author: Robert D. Wright

PP: 287

The survival of plants during the winter, or their resistance to low temperatures, is not controlled by any one environmental or physiological factor. Rather it is the combination of a number of environmental factors, both past and present, as they each, or in combination, affect the many physiological processes that interact to produce a plant response. This paper will attempt to cover some of the physiological phenomena which operate in a plant as it acclimates to freezing temperature and resists injury during winter.

Acclimation of plants. Cold acclimation of overwintering plants generally follows a two stage pattern (21). The first stage of plant acclimation to freezing temperatures appears to be induced by short days in late summer and fall (18,19). The first stage of acclimation appears to involve two distinct events; growth of cessation and the initiation of the metabolic changes which facilitate the plant's response to low temperatures during the second stage of acclimation. The

FACTORS AFFECTING PHYSIOLOGY OF ROOTS IN WINTER

Author: J.H. Tinga

PP: 291

Roots respond to their environment. The greatest response is to temperature with rapid expansion and translocation from 25 to 35°C. As the normal temperature decreases in fall and winter, root activity slows down. Water content of root cells decreases. Sugar and mineral content increases. Roots are easily damaged by freezing, but in November normal roots become more freeze resistant due to normal hormone changes and decreased root activity.

In the container nursery, roots are not in a normal environmental — they are hotter in the winter day and colder at night. Most roots are against the side of the container where the temperature changes are most severe. Without examining roots in pots by upending them, you do not realize that two plants with the same size top may be supported in one case by half a root system and in the other by a quarter root system. In the field, roots are spread over a wide shallow area with a moderated air temperature. Freezing is delayed by earth heat. A long fall

NUTRITION PRACTICES AND MEDIA CONTROLS FOR WINTER PROTECTION

Author: Oliver Washington III

PP: 293

Media Controls for Winter Protection. Information on the influence of the soil medium on winter protection is not very plentiful. Work done by Self (6) in 1963 showed that, after artificial freezing and thawing of containers filled with several media, those containers with sandy clay as an ingredient were the first to freeze. Containers with charcoal or peatmoss had slower freeze rates. Some work done in Georgia showed that media with pine bark were 2 to 8°F warmer than identical mixes with peatmoss as the organic ingredient (4). Both studies indicate that winter protection of containers can be influenced by the medium used.

The most important factors of a medium that influence cold protection are its: (a) percent air filled pore space or porosity, (b) moisture, and (c) organic matter content (1).

Air space within a container minimizes heat loss through conductance by serving as an insulator. Potting mixes with a large percentage of ingredients that are fine in particle size, such as the

WINTER PLANT PROTECTION AT FAIRVIEW NURSERY

Author: Phil Beaumont

PP: 297

At Fairview Nursery we grow azaleas, hollies, photinias and some junipers in containers. We grow only one, two, and three gallon material. We are a bread-and-butter nursery and do not grow anything out of the ordinary. All our plants are grown in a bark and German peat mix. Our bark is green and runs from ¼ inch to 50-cent piece size. All 2 and 3 gallon plants are fertilized with 16-4-8 formulation. At the time they are containerized, one gallon material and azaleas are fertilized with 18-6-12 Osmocote at the rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon. All plants are fertilized with 10-20-10 through the irrigation system several times during the summer. They are grown in full sun in black plastic.

Previous years, during the latter part of November and early December, all 2 and 3-gallon containers were pushed can tight, except for the azaleas. We jammed at this time for several reasons. One is that we ship on into mid-November and we find it difficult to pick out orders from can-tight stock.

BENCH ROOT GRAFTING OF WISTARIA

Author: D.J. Wickens

PP: 55

Understocks. Sow the seeds, which are usually obtained from the Continent, in prepared seed beds at the beginning of May. Cover with ¼" sand. Inspect after about ten days to check that they have chitted; if so add a further ¼" of sand. Do this in two stages as we have found decay to be a problem if the seeds are covered too deeply initially.

About early December, or when the leaves have fallen, lift the understocks. It is important to lift them with as much fibrous root attached as possible. If using an undercutter, check that the blade is 10" to 12" below the surface. Store the seedlings in boxes between layers of moist peat in a cold glasshouse.

Bench Preparation. In January prepare a heated bench with a 50/50 peat-sand mix to a depth of 5". Ensure this is well moistened. Heat bench to 55°F. Switch on 2 to 3 days in advance. Cover with a polythene tent.

Collection of Scion Material and Preparation of Grafts. Take scion material from stock plants and dip in

WINTER PLANT PROTECTION AT GREENLEAF NURSERY COMPANY, OKLAHOMA DIVISION

Author: Stanley Foster

PP: 298

Over the past 15 years Greenleaf Nursery has spent a great deal of money on its overwintering process. The winter of 1961 taught us some rather severe lessons that resulted in such extensive steps being taken. In the winter of 1976–77, all of the extra effort paid off.

In January of 1977, we had a low temperature of near –20°F, and the temperature did not get above 10°F for three days. Had we not had the system of overwintering that we have used for the last several years, our losses would have been devastating. As it was, our losses were basically limited to 5-gallon pyracantha that were outside and 5-gallon sweetgum. All items that were in our overwintering houses were spared, including azaleas that we had brought in from Alabama and hollies from our nursery in Texas. Thus, we feel like our system had the ultimate test and came through in relatively good condition.

Our overwintering system is divided into four basic procedures:

  1. Bunching for mutual protection.
  2. Mulching with wheat straw.
COLD PROTECTION AT WIGHT NURSERIES

Author: John B. Wight Jr

PP: 300

Wight Nurseries is in climatic zone 9 where normally lowest temperatures are in the range of 20° to 25°F. We have potentially damaging weather about 1 in 5 years. We have had snow one time since 1954, but we had 6°F weather in January, 1977.

We produced about 4 million container-grown plants per year, approximately 1/3 conifer and the balance broadleaf. We have never had damage to coniferous evergreens and have never made any effort to jam or space these plants. We do not jam azaleas but do put a polyethylene windbreak around the shade houses. Quite frankly I would hate to be growing a large quantity of container plants in a colder zone than this, particularly if the production were in broadleaves.

We have found that our biggest crop, Ilex, starts having severe root damage at around 12°F and sustained temperatures of 10°F or lower will kill them if some protection is not given.

Our protection at Wight Nurseries is very simple. As a preventive each year, all plants that do not have large tops and

WINTER PROTECTION FOR CONTAINER-GROWN RHODODENDRONS

Author: Ted Richardson

PP: 302

A great hazard of growing container rhododendrons is that of loss due to winter cold. Young plants have been a very serious problem as the wood is more susceptible to tissue injury. In the absence of protection large numbers with one or two flushes of growth are either fully lost or highly depreciated in value due to bark splitting. Hardy cultivars with 4 or more flushes of growth do not have this problem in our operation but do suffer from tissue water deficiency if exposed to direct sunlight when the roots are frozen. The degree of this type of injury varies with cultivar and exposure. Older plants may also suffer from root damage. A fourth problem is that of frost injury to actively growing tissue on both young and older plants.

I have attempted to solve the first mentioned problem by having no plants with less than four flushes of growth to carry through the winter. My propagation is done in late June. In early November the rooted cuttings are potted out in South Florida and two

WINTER PROTECTION OF NURSERY PLANTS: 1956–1977 SUMMARY

Author: Raymond L. Self

PP: 303

Disastrous effects of freezes in the South in 1950, 1962–1963, and 1977, have stimulated research at the Ornamental Horticulture Field Station in Mobile. Results have often been skimpy due to lack of freezes. Usually, the experiments have been set up hastily when severe freezes were predicated or immediately thereafter.

The results of numerous laboratory and field tests have revealed the following facts regarding protection of container-grown plants from freeze injury:

  1. The freeze rate varies with the type of potting mixture ingredients. The rate of freeze is fastest for sandy clay, intermediate for spent wood (charcoal and sand from burned pine stumps), and slowest for German peat moss. By incorporating generous quantities of peat moss or charcoal with the potting mixture, many additional hours of freeze protection can be built into a potting mixture (6). The mixtures that freeze fastest also thaw fastest, causing undue rupturing of roots, which kills the plants (8).
  2. Freeze and thaw
QUESTION BOX

Author: Richard Stadtherr

PP: 307

The Southern Region Question Box was moderated by Dr. Richard Stadtherr.

MODERATOR STADTHERR: Which is more harmful to plants after a 6°F temperature, a fast thaw or a slow thaw?

DR. JAKE TINGA: If the root ball is frozen, slow thawing of the shoots would be more compatible with the slow thaw of the roots. If you could thaw the roots as fast as the shoots, there would be no problem. Slow thawing of the shoots would reduce transpiration. Turn the water on before freezing starts; keep the water on until all ice has melted. This layer keeps the surface at 32°F (cell damage begins at 28°F) and also prevents dessication. If the sun hits a dry leaf and it transpires, and there is no available liquid water to come through the frozen root and stem, the leaf dessicates and dies. However, I do not think you can hold a plant at 6‰F. I think the limit is about 20‰.

CHARLIE PARKERSON: Dr. Robert Wright told us today that roots freeze before the tops. How can roots freeze

GROWTH REGULATORS FOR POT PLANTS

Author: J.P. Salinger

PP: 315

Although a wide range of foliage plants are grown for house plant sale, only recently have specifications been drawn up indicating the factors to be considered in evaluating a plant for this purpose (6). The action and use of growth regulators on pot plants have been widely considered (1,3,7) and also tabulated for extension purposes (5). These regulators can assist in the production of desirable pot plants by manipulating the vegetative growth, inducing flowering, or a combination of both aspects.

Growth Retardants. Vegetative growth manipulation, especially height control, is achieved by the use of dwarf-inducing compounds. Desirable house plants should be relatively wide in relation to height; the most suitable height to diameter ratio is 1 to 1.62 (6). This is difficult to obtain without control in many pot plants due to the natural growth habit of the cultivar and the environmental conditions imposed on the plants; frequently several plants are placed in one container to rapidly produce a

METHODS OF GRAFTING TAMARILLOS (TREE TOMATOES) (CYPHOMANDRA BETACEA)

Author: Dick J.W. Endt

PP: 317

History. During 1964, experimental work was carried out at Plant Diseases Division, D.S.I.R., Auckland, on tomatoes. This involved grafting tomatoes on resistant rootstocks for nematode control. As a matter of private interest a few tamarillos were grafted. These few trees were later given to me to study their resistance to root-rot diseases in my tree nursery. The stock used for these trees were Solanum aviculare and Solanum mauritianum. These grafted plants were planted at random in my tamarillo plant nursery in the field.

During the following winter months disaster overtook this nursery block as 80 percent of the seedlings succumbed to Phytophthora root rot, owing to extremely wet soil conditions. The surprising result was that none of the grafted trees were affected.

On the strength of these results I was convinced that grafting tamarillo plants on these rootstocks would solve the Phytophthora problem. My property has a clay soil and 60" of rainfall per annum, where seedlings die

PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS LIMITING THE PROPAGATION OF DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTALS BY HARDWOOD CUTTINGS

Author: D.S. Tustin

PP: 319

Since the initial breakthrough with hardwood cutting propagation of fruit tree rootstocks (2,4,5), the logical progression of research has extended towards the evaluation of such techniques on deciduous ornamental species. Most of such work has been done by the research groups who were involved with fruit tree rootstock hardwood propagation, and a similar trend in emphasis has been true with the N.Z. Nursery Research Centre, where extensive trials are continuing with hardwood cutting propagation of deciduous ornamentals.

The initial approach to the propagation of deciduous ornamentals by hardwood cuttings has been to impose those treatments which were successful on genera such as Malus and Prunus, to a wide range of ornamental species. Although some species have responded well to the standard treatment, others have not. Subsequent research has established a broad base from which more detailed studies can be developed. Many of the factors limiting the successful hardwood propagation of

ASPECTS OF PROPAGATION HYGIENE

Author: J.M. Rumbal

PP: 323

Hygiene in a propagation unit really begins with the stock plants. Duncan and Davies have extensive stock areas, about 20 acres. These require regular spraying and pruning to keep them in good order; propagation hygiene must start with clean healthy cutting material. A general spray programme, consisting of the following, is applied with a motor blower sprayer to all stock plants: 2-½ oz Lorsban insecticide, 6 oz Dithan M45 fungicide, 1-½ oz Topsin M fungicide. These are put into a 3 gal motor-blown sprayer.

Any specific pest of disease not controlled by this combination is picked up with routine checks and the following sprays are usually used to combat these: ¾ oz Plictran for mites; 3 oz Cuproxide + ½ oz Agrimycin for fungous diseases. All of these again in 3 gallons of water. This programme outlined controls most pests and diseases, but other controls are used for specific pests. Recently the nursery has undertaken the spraying of stock plants and nursery crops with a helicopter with

GROWING EUCALYPTUS SPECIES IN THE SOUTH OF NEW ZEALAND

Author: C. Lester Diack

PP: 325

Within the last few years poplar rust has made its presence felt here in New Zealand and has taken its toll. With this happening, the demand has been greater for fast growing trees such as the eucalyptus. Of all the trees, I know of no species other than eucalyptus which grows from the coast to the mountains, desert, swamp, and in all types of soil conditions.

Seed Selection. For the growing of eucalyptus in very cold areas such as we are in (Southland), it is very important that seed be selected from a cold locality; this will give resistance to frost. Seed should only be selected from trees of good form and true to the species.

Seed sowing

Hardy, cold tolerant species. (e.g., Eucalyptus delegatensis, E. niphophila, E.gunnii, E. coccifera, E. perriniana, etc.) Seeds of species that are cold tolerant are best sown in seed boxes and stacked outside in a cold, shaded position during the winter; this provides stratification of the seed. Keep turning the stack over and water any boxes

WHY GRAFT?

Author: Philip McMillan Browse

PP: 56

"Grafting is the technique of joining two plants or parts of plants together in such a manner that they will unite and continue their growth as an integrated individual."

The operation requires skill and expertise which essentially comes in two parts;

  1. The Carpentry aspects, which are specifically manual and
  2. The Husbandry aspects which are concerned with the knowledge and ability to prepare the rootstocks prior to grafting and to give subsequent aftercare.

These operations, however, are inevitably costly despite available skills, training to improve speed and efficiency, and the availability of knowledge which will ensure adequate productivity. This system of propagation is expensive. It is not, therefore, surprising that so much of modern research programmes are concerned with looking for alternative methods of plant propagation so that plants may be produced both more simply and cheaply.

On occasions, however, grafting cannot be avoided or, alternatively, it may be

DEVELOPING A TREE AND SHRUB PROPAGATION UNIT IN THE "DEEP SOUTH"

Author: Neville L. Jones

PP: 326

At the beginning of this year we brought out an established nursery at Lorneville, a few kilometres north of the Invercargill city boundary. Because it was obvious that we needed more room for propagating, owing to the increasing demand for trees and shrubs, this appeared to be the ideal location to build an entirely new propagation unit where we had room to expand as required. The main advantages offered at this new site were the excellent water supply, the existing good hedge shelter belts, and the extra acreage which would allow for proposed container blocks as well as additional glasshouses for propagation, etc. I will discuss the initial development stage that has already taken place and the further proposed stages.

Stage I. This started with choosing and clearing a site for our propagation unit, and then drilling for a new water well. The existing two bores were not sufficient for our plants.

PROPAGATION OF ENSETE VENTRICOSUM — (MUSA ENSETE) — PURPLE FORM

Author: Donal Duthie

PP: 329

Plants of most Musa species are propagated by division, the exception being Ensete ventricosum (Musa ensete) which does not normally produce divisions, but does flower and set seed which germinates in prolific quantities if conditions are right. In New Zealand, however, a purple variety of Ensete vetricosum has not been known to flower and therefore the only known method of propagation is by mutilation of the bud tip which causes an artificial means of divisions or, in other words, meristem culture on a large scale.

Removing the leaves. The parent plant must be of reasonable size and should have a stem not less than 10 cm diameter at the base. The top foliage should be removed by cutting through the stem about 30 cm up from the base. Then begins the delicate operation of removing all the leaf bases to expose the crown and the growing tip. In a plant with a 10 cm diameter stem, the crown would be about 3 to 4 cm high. The leaves are removed partially by tearing and partially by cutting

PROGRAMME OF THE PROPAGATION SYSTEM USED AT ARDMORE NURSERIES LTD.

Author: D. Allen Beaumont

PP: 331

Our nursery is 12.5 hectares in size. One hectare is used for containers and as a growing-on area and for buildings, the rest is open ground consisting of consolidated peat. We produce about 80 to 85 percent of our own plants from cuttings or seed.

Cutting Propagation. All our evergreen cuttings are made in March/April and are taken mostly from plants growing in the open ground which will be lifted for sale in June/July.

The genera of plants we propagate from cutting are:

Azara                      Cytisus           Pittosporum
Boronia                  Erica              Photinia
Calluna                  Euonymus     Senecio
Chamaecyparis     Griselinia     Spiraea
Choisya                  Hebe              Teucrium
Coprosma              Hypericum    Viburnum
Corokia                 Juniperus      Weigela
Cotoneaster           Nerium          Westringia
Cryptomeria          Phebalium

All cuttings are treated the same way. We make heel cuttings or otherwise cut under a leaf node. Cuttings are made as large as is practical; for example, Cryptomeria elegans cutting are up to 20 cm long. All cuttings are put in boxes of pumice and sand, the latter from the Waikato River. The trays we

"COSTING" A GROWING MEDIUM

Author: M. Richards

PP: 333

In general terms I am not keen on the process commonly called "costing", although I am happy to admit that cost-accounting, correctly applied, can make a valuable contribution to business management. Too often, however, the process commonly referred to as "costing" is not carried out in accordance with sound cost-accounting principles, and the results so obtained are frequently misused to produce conclusions which may be economically unsound. This approach to costs has recently been focused on growing media for container grown plants.

The true costs of a growing medium are made up of a number of factors, some of which are not easy to measure. The most important of these are:

  1. The raw materials. The material costs of a growing medium are fairly easily determined. Table 1 sets out the on-site-cost per M3 of some commonly used materials, while Table 2 sets out the materials cost of three mixtures made from these, including the costs of a fertilizer programme. These costs will vary from nursery
PLANT QUARANTINE PHILOSOPHY IN NEW ZEALAND

Author: A.F. Rainbow

PP: 335

Is Quarantine Justified? Two of the most important potato pests (cyst nematode and wart) have been found in New Zealand within the last few years; so have bacterial wilt of lucerne, Sitona weevils (pests of pasture legumes), and the blue-green lucerne-aphid, amongst other. However, New Zealand is still fortunate in being free from many plant pests that occur overseas, as can be seen from Table 1.
SOIL-BORNE DISEASES AND THEIR ROLE IN PLANT PROPAGATION

Author: A.J. McCully, M.B. Thomas

PP: 339

The effects of four genera of fungal plant pathogens on seedlings and cuttings are reviewed. Current control measures for these diseases are discussed.
LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY IN CLONAL APPLE ROOTSTOCKS

Author: S.H. Nelson

PP: 350

The paper outlines the apparent loss of rootability and juvenility in the Ottawa series of apple rootstocks in Canada. The lack of a suitable quick chemical test, as well as the uncertainty of using morphological characteristics associated with juvenility for assessing rootability is briefly discussed. Based on published work, as well as anatomical differences between the easy-to-root and difficult-to-root sources of the Ottawa rootstocks, a quick, easy test using the mid-nodal region of the basal internode of one-year old apple wood and staining cross-sections with phloroglucinol-HCl is suggested. Not only the lesser amount of phloem fibre in the easy-to-root type, but also the existence of large gaps in the ring is important. Suggestions are made for retaining rootability in clonal apple rootstocks and for their distribution.
CHIP BUDDING FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES

Author: B.H. Howard

PP: 357

Chip budding achieves rapid union formation in the weeks immediately after budding because the cambium of stock and scion are placed together, in contrast to conventional T budding. Early union formation results in higher bud-take, stronger unions, greater uptake of mineral elements, faster and more uniform growth and the production of more first grade trees from chip than T budded plants. Fungal spores of Nectria galligena carried on apple budwood are not introduced under the bark of the rootstocks as readily in chip as in T budding and fewer union cankers develop.
CHIP BUDDING ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE

Author: Albert H. Bremer

PP: 366

Hilltop nursery specializes in Malus and Prunus species of fruit trees, raising both nursery and orchard crops on 1500 acres. The majority of our stock is sold on a contract basis, allowing an interval of 2 to 3 years from the time of order to the final delivery of the product.

Chip budding, a recent introduction in our propagation program, may prove to be a dominant factor in increasing future bud stands. We have worked 2 years with this budding technique. It appears to be more costly than conventional T-budding, requiring precise timing and accuracy. Chip budding has possibilities of increasing our winter survival rate in the field.

Understocks for apple are propagated by layering, while peach and cherry rootstocks are started from seed. During the first growing season, apple rootstocks are mound layered with sawdust, undercut in the fall and placed in cold storage through the winter. Early in the spring they are transplanted by machine and grown to suitable grafting caliper.

MANUAL GRAFTING VERSUS MACHINE GRAFTING

Author: James B. Law

PP: 368

Machine grafting has been with us for a long time. From a historical standpoint, M.G. Kains in his book, "Plant Propagation", refers to machine grafting techniques; this book was written in 1916. Robert Garner refers to grafting machines in his classic text, "The Grafter's Handbook". He probably puts his finger on the situation today when he states "grafting machines are more commonly used for vines than for other subjects". He then goes on to state why. Hartmann and Kester also treat the subject in their book, "Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices."

Over a period of time our company has tried a number of grafting machines. The latest one we have tried is the Wahler Graft-Star unit, making what is popularly referred to as the Omega graft. With this unit we were able to produce 5500 grafts in an 8 hour day with a skilled operator. Using an unskilled operator a production level of 3300 grafts per day was reached. This would compare with a 1600–1800 average that we would expect to have made

IDEAS FROM THE NURSERY PRACTICE FIELD PRODUCTION UNIT

Author: David A. Husband

PP: 57

INTRODUCTION

The aim of the unit is to be basically self-perpetuating, enabling students to gain an insight to field production of fruit and ornamental subjects. We have no glasshouse on site. It is an old site, with many years of horticultural use behind it comprising 0.557 ha, or so, total land, with approximately 60m2 of seed beds, and 800m2 of layer beds, and seven cropping plots averaging 440m2 each.

Where possible, the propagating material — (i.e. cuttings, bud sticks, or grafting scions) comes from stockplants lined out as "hedges" in between plots.

POLY TENT VERSUS OPEN BENCH GRAFTING

Author: Leonard Savella

PP: 369

Grafting of various types of ornamentals has been a practice of propagators for hundreds of years. The types of graft and how they are handled has differed according to the personal preference of the propagator for whatever his reasons.

Considering that we all know the basics of grafting I would like to talk about how, with the use of plastic, we can improve our percentage of success and at the same time lower the time and effort it takes to care for the grafts once they are placed in the grafting bench.

The practice most commonly used by propagators is the open bench and sweat box type of grafting. Whether or not you cover your bench, getting the peat moss at the right moisture content, covering the union on the graft, syringing, draining the glass, rolling back the paper, all these can be eliminated by using the poly tent method.

The poly tent method involves building a frame of wood or wire over the grafting bench. The height and the length of the tent depends on what you graft and

DWARF ROOTSTOCKS — PROPAGATION AND USAGE

Author: Robert F. Carlson

PP: 371

Rootstocks, especially for fruit crops, is an old subject with renewed interest. For example, 25 years ago there was very little interest in dwarf apple trees compared to current use of up to 90 percent in commercial orchards. There are practical reasons for this, such as: smaller trees are easier to manage, production per unit of land is higher than the old system, fruit quality is improved and management costs are less. This report is an update on rootstocks and their application for controlling tree size and for increased yields.
ACCELERATED GROWTH OF CONIFERS

Author: Marion Van Slooten

PP: 374

The normal growth pattern of a conifer, after the seed germinates, is a series of active growth cycles followed by periods of dormancy. When a seed is planted in the nursery, it germinates and begins its growth by developing a root. Shortly afterwards, the epicotyl needles develop and in a period of 4 to 6 weeks there will be a continuing growth of both the root system and the stem and needles.

Some time later, the stem growth will stop and the tree will develop a bud. The root growth will continue for a period of time and then the tree will become dormant and remain so during the winter until the soil warms the following spring.

After the new growth begins, the same cycle will follow wherein the tree will develop both root and top growth during the summer followed by a period of dormancy during the winter and new growth the following year.

The principle of accelerated growth is that the tree is subjected to conditions which break this dormancy period. Instead of going into dormancy

NITROGEN NUTRITION OF JUNIPERS1

Author: James E. Klett

PP: 377

With the trend to faster production of saleable nursery plants in containers, the nursery industry utilizes large amounts of fertilizers in their growing procedures, especially nitrogen. The effects of NH4 + and NO3- sources of nitrogen, on growth of woody ornamentals in containers have not been studied to any great extent. Differential response of certain horticultural plants to NH4 + and NO3- has been reported (1,2,3,8) and in most cases better growth was reported when NO3- was the N source. However, species specificity has contributed to diversity in result obtained from two nitrogen sources (4,6,7). Experiments were conducted in the greenhouse and outdoors to evaluate the effects of N form on growth, appearance, cold hardiness and N composition of five cultivars of juniper.

Greenhouse Study

MYCORRHIZAE AND PLANT GROWTH

Author: Dale M. Maronek

PP: 382

It has long been assumed that soil borne fungi adversely affect nursery crops. Stem and root rots, dampening off, etc., are common fungal problems to the nurseryman. However, there are groups of soil-borne fungal organisms which are beneficial to plants. Mycorrhizal fungi are capable of forming a symbiotic relationship with plant roots. This plant-fungal association is called mycorrhiza and literally means "fungus root"; myco meaning fungus and rhiza meaning root. The coexistence established between the root and fungus is generally beneficial to both organisms. However, there are exceptions or variations to this general definition ranging from fungal parasitism to total dependence of the plant on the mycorrhizal fungus. Mycorrhizal fungi can also exhibit specificity ranging from many plant-host associations to a single plant-host. They are naturally occurring fungi and 80 to 90% of all plants are reported to have a mycorrhizal association(s).

There is overwhelming evidence that many

FLOOR HOT WATER HEAT FOR INDOOR PLANT PROPAGATION

Author: Mary Ann Dicenzi

PP: 390

Our method of propagation at Plant Systems involves the use of ground heat. It is not a miraculous process, the plants do not spring up overnight. However, it is a natural process that speeds up the rooting of cuttings. This is a system I am sure other growers may wish to investigate. It is likely to become one of the most popular methods of plant propagation in the future.

Many references can be found in the history of plant propagation concerning the utilization of bottom heat to aid in stimulating rooting. Each firm might have different facilities available to them and in our case we had a conventional plastic covered quonset house which is 14 feet wide and 135 feet long. Since there is not a lot of head room for using conventional benches and since the greatest width is at the base it was decided that if the propagation trays could be set on the floor that the greatest return per square foot would result. It was decided that warm water circulated through plastic pipes in the

LEAF MOLD FOR CONTAINER CULTURE

Author: William Flemer III

PP: 392

Using leaf mold for growing container plants on a commercial scale? It sounds like a return to the era of monastery gardening, or at least a capitulation to the organic gardening extremists — mumbling incantations about compost! However, the use of composed leaf mold is none of the above, but a very practical and inexpensive source of humus in certain parts of this country. In carrying out "clean air" programs, a number of the densely populated eastern states have enacted rigid no open burning regulations, which include among other things a total prohibition of leaf burning. This has posed a real problem for suburban municipalities with abundant shade trees. As the fallen leaves are collected each autumn they have perforce been dumped in large piles in vacant lots as they cannot be incinerated as was the practice in earlier times. These huge piles of decayed leaves can be a valuable source for nurseries and at the same time
A SOLAR GREENHOUSE FOR PROPAGATION1

Author: Carl E. Whitcomb

PP: 394

In the last few years much interest and emphasis has been placed on the development of solar heated greenhouses. Nearly all that have been reported to date use a separate solar collector system, then transfer the heat to the greenhouse by some type of heat exchanger. Thus the heat and heat distribution is similar to a conventional greenhouse. By contrast, the self contained, solar heated greenhouse at Oklahoma State University was constructed using the heat collection capacity of the greenhouse as the collector system, storing the heat in water and sand in the floor to stabilize the greenhouse temperature. Our greenhouse, therefore, is entirely bottom heat and well adapted to propagation.

Operation of the structure. The greenhouse is a Quonset type structure 26 × 72 ft (dimensions can be varied), constructed from ¾ inch galvanized pipe bows placed on 6 ft centers with one center purlin (Figure 1). Covering is by 3 layers of air inflated polyethylene. The triple layer system gives

FACTORS CONTROLLING REGENERATION FROM ROOT CUTTINGS

Author: Charles W. Heuser

PP: 398

Root cuttings as a method of reproducing plants are little used in today's modern nursery and probably will be used even less in the future. Modern methods, such as tissue culture appear to represent the future trend. Root cuttings, however, are applicable to a wider number of woody plants than is realized. The ability of root cuttings of many plant species to regenerate whole plants has been recognized and described in the horticultural literature over a long period of time and extensive lists of species have been compiled (7,18). Propagation through root cuttings assumed a more important role before the introduction of propagation aids such as, auxins and mist. Flemer (7) cites two principal reasons for the rarity of this method. 1. Many plants for which it is the best technique are infrequently grown in the average nursery. 2. The inconvenience of securing root cuttings is a strong deterrent. Either the whole plant must be dug to secure appropriate root pieces or else the soil must
PROPAGATION OF WOODY PLANTS BY ROOT CUTTINGS

Author: Carl Orndorff

PP: 402

Asides from growing by seed, the next oldest method of propagation of woody plants is by root cuttings or root sprouts. Early settlers of America brought woody plants from Europe by this method and used this method of transporting them as they moved westward in settlement of their new homelands.

Very little can be found in the literature on plant propagation concerning the use of root cuttings for woody plants. L.H. Bailey in The Nursery Manual, published in 1920, devotes three paragraphs to the subject. His primary discussion is of the bramble fruits, horseradish and certain tropical foliage plants. He states, with no elaboration, that fruit trees may be grown from root cuttings. Bailey also states that true root cuttings process no buds whatsoever. This would seem subject to question. (Possibly I should have entitled this presentation "root sprouts" rather that "root cuttings".)

James S. Wells in his Plant Propagation Practices, published in 1957, devotes two paragraphs to root cuttings