8
THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • MARCH 2017
• NEWS
Dr England said the resultswere in linewith findingsmade
byUSA researcher JohnDole, workingwith geraniums, New
Guinea impatiens andpoinsettia, onwhosework theUK trial
had been based.
Paul Dyer, growingmanager for Newey Perennial Plugs and
Liners inWest Sussex, said the company’s 3,300sqm of
glasshouse-grownmother stock, planted four years ago,
remained an important resource, despite the increasing range
of crops being propagated from bought-in cuttings.
“Growing stock plants under glass enables us to use shade
screens andmanage irrigation and humidity to control growth,”
he said. “It has also improved the yield of cuttings –we obtain
around 700,000 from the glasshouse yearly. Andbeing under
glassmakes integrated pest and diseasemanagement easier.”
Propagation at the nursery is increasinglymoving away from
themore traditional type of nursery stock cutting to softer tip
cuttingswith higher carbohydrate levels for faster rooting – and
growing the stock plants under protectionmeans these can be
harvested several times a year, he said. Softwoodmaterial can
also be taken from the growing cropwhere it doesn’t interfere
with its quality. “Andwith it getting harder to find skilled staff,
less judgement is requiredwith this type of cutting in terms of
what material to take from the plant,” he added.
“I’ve learned a lot from propagating perennials andwe can
For the full story andmore, go to:
solufeed.com
Barnham,WestSussexPO220BT
01243 554090
Solufeed and thewavy parallelogram device are trademarks of Solufeed Ltd.
Top quality speciality fertilizers
Fulvic 25
•
A
natural
soil conditioner.
•
Restores& improves growing
media for better root action.
•
Increasesavailabilityof essential nutrients
for healthier plants.
•
Easy touse liquid formulation.
Fantastic for Fruit
apply that to hardy nursery stock.”
DavidHide, whoworked as a propagator before joining
Fargro’s technical team, said growers should not overlook
the advantages of simplicity and ease of management of
rooting cuttings under lowpolythene tents, rather than inmist
systems. “With a simple heatedmat for bottom heat, andby
usingmodern glasshouse paints to control light levels, you can
propagate under polythene all year round,” he said. “Watering
anddrainage are also easier thanwithmist.”
AHDB-fundedwork at Stockbridge TechnologyCentre, North
Yorkshire, looking at propagation under different colours of LED
light, has shown the importance of reducing the proportion
of blue light during rooting, said researcher PhillipDavis. “It is
possible to use spectral filter materials to do this, you don’t
have to invest in LEDs,” he said. Blue light stimulates the
stomata in the leaves to open – during rooting thismeans the
cutting can dehydrate. However, once the cutting has rooted,
too little blue light leads to slower growth andpoorer quality
plants.
Fargro IPM specialist Neil Helyer reminded growers that pests
anddiseases can spread rapidly in propagation units. “The
fungal biopesticideBeauveria bassiana is particularly good
as part of your integrated pest management in propagation,”
he said. “If conditions are right it can spreadwithin pest
populations.”
The biofungicides Prestop (Gliocladium catenulatum),
SerenadeASO (Bacillus subtilis) and T34Biocontrol
(Trichoderma asperellum) also performwell under propagation
conditions, he said. Aswell as directly acting on pathogens,
they help to trigger the plant’s natural defencemechanisms.
Jill England: treatments canhelp to improve root
development if cuttingshavedeteriorated in transit.
