Any Idea's?

thanks
Cecil

Dan

So far only having mold problems on one cutting, if it shows anymore mold I will cut away the part that is getting the mold, then if it shows it's ugly head again, that cutting is going into the garbage.

Thanks
Cecil

Al

The cuttings are in a baggie wrapped in a damp paper towel.

So if I'm reading this right, I should take them out of the paper towels and separate then into separate baggies, or clear
containers, I have a bunch of clear plastic jugs that we get when we buy orange juice, would something like that work?
Thanks very much.
Cecil

I went ahead and cupped them up in UPM and then I put cups on the top with one 1/4" hole for a vent!
I hope they "take"

thanks again,
Cecil

Al

We will keep that in mind!

I think I might be able to root at least one (fingers crossed)
Regards
Cecil

Few people (if any) have conducted the research on fig cutting mold to the extent that I have. Few know about the many chemical agents, ozone generators, UV lights, ultra-sonic baths, etc. that I have experimented with. From all of this work, what is perfectly clear to me is that IT TAKES ALL THREE OF THESE THINGS for mold to manifest itself.......1) mold vectors (mold, mildew, spores, bacteria, fungus, and yeast) 2) Food (mostly sugars and some other light hydrocarbons) and 3) Liquid Water (usually from uncontrolled moisture). ELIMINATE ANY ONE of those three things through good methodology and you will not see any mold develop on your cuttings. Even if mold spores are present in your rooting mix, they WILL NOT GROW without food or uncontrolled moisture. My methods and suggestions recognize these facts and virtually eliminate mold issues.

Cecil, from what you are describing, mold has already reached the cambium layer of your cutting. All three conditions for mold are now present in that layer .....mold vectors, food, and moisture are now in that layer which his why you are seeing mold. Cleaning your cuttings again is not likely to work as the chemicals will have a hard time penetrating and reaching deep into that inner layer. It is the same with the sunlight suggestion offered by Al. Sunlight will not penetrate nor reach deep into the layer where all three mold conditions are still met. Sunlight can only help a bit with SURFACE mold.

The main component of sunlight that WILL KILL "SOME" (note that I said SOME) of the mold vectors comes for the ultra violet or UV part of the spectrum. One can use concentrated UV light (as I have) to treat cuttings for mold. (UV lights are those black lights that some fisherman use to attract fish at night....they are available in the sporting goods section of many stores.) However, even strong UV light is not as effective as chemical cleaners in killing "ALL" mold vectors (note I said ALL and not some).....much less sunlight which only has a little bit of UV light in it.

In your particular situation, it appears that mold has already reached the cambium layer of your cutting. Your best coarse of action it to treat it like a cancer and cut that part off as I have suggested earlier. Continue rooting by whatever method you choose.

Rooters will find that the cleaning, storage, and rooting methods and procedures that I have written about are by far the easiest and least prone to molding of the current rooting methods going around. Mold PREVENTION by removing one or more of the three molding conditions is the key to success. I consistently achieve a high rooting success rate and do not have any problems with mold. Stay with a proven method and you too can achieve those same results.

Dan

I thought (ain't that a dangerous sounding statment)?

that I had followed your cleaning method to the "letter"

I guess I didn't.
I'm not near about giving up on this Hollier rooting project.

Thanks to all
stay tuned.
Cecil

Dan

In my fig trials I am trying to identify the best cultivars for growing in my hot/humid zone 9 climate. What I am finding out is that those cultivars producing more than one crop in my yard where the second or even third crop ripens "sweet" good tasting figs even when the weather is cool........seem to do well in northern colder climates. I will be paying special attention to these fruiting characteristics of my trial figs this coming season.

Dan

I don't have much hope for the cuttings now, but I will keep trying.

Cecil

Also, that mold that you now see growing is using up a lot of the available energy reserves of those cuttings....so even if you now stop the mold, you have already lost significant energy reserves that would have otherwise gone into forming roots and leaves. So even if you somehow now manage to stop that mold, those cuttings will produce much weaker growth. That's why prevention techniques are so important.

Dan

How would I go about surgically removing the mole spores?

By scraping or what?

Cecil

It is not just the mold spores that need removing.... it is usually a whole host of mold vectors (spores are just one agent) that must be removed. You remove them by cutting off any sections of the cutting that looks moldy or rotten. After cutting off a piece, look at the cut made on the cutting and see if it still looks moldy. If the cut looks rotten, moldy, or off color; then, you will need to cut lower. However you need to dip your snipper's blades into some 10% Clorox BEFORE you make your next cut.....this is very important.

Continue cutting the moldy looking stuff off until you finally reach nice clean green wood. BE SURE TO DIP YOUR SNIPPER in Clorox between each cut that you make on your cutting....you will infect the clean wood if you don't.

Afterwards, wash your snippers in some soapy tap water and apply a bit of oil (WD 40 is good) to them. (Any Clorox not removed from your snippers will cause them to rust.)

Good luck,

Dan

Another side tip which is not so scientific. Go buy a box of Clorox Wipes. If you have some fuzz appearing, Clorox wipes are a superb tool for cleaning up mold spots on a cutting before it has chance to set in. Always check for light mold fuzz around cut sites, leaf scars and end caps.

As I told another member the other day by email - when you get cuttings in from other folks, you have no idea how long they've been stored in the fridge, or what they went through in transit. Always squeeze the wood from tip to end, looking for soft (bruised) and mushy (rotten) spots. Bruised spots will become rotten. Rotten spots will spread. Don't be afraid to cut off rotten spots totally, and be liberal with your cuts. Better to cut a little extra than to not get it all and need to cut your wood again later. Also, don't be afraid to THROW AWAY a cutting. I usually pay $1-$2 per cutting. I've had two different cuttings come in this year which went straight from the bag and into the garbage can. They were too far gone. It was like taking a buck or two and tossing in the garbage, but the reality is, if I didn't, I risked the other several dollars worth of cuttings I paid for, by possibly spreading the "funk" to them.

Sometimes a cutting just can't be helped, they're just "bad" sometimes. This is something you must come to accept before you start trying to root anything.

Luckily I have 3 more Hollier cuttings being sent to me!

I plan on doing your method Dan as soon as I receive them.
(no fidge for these guys)

Thanks goes to the Great member that was kind enough to send the cuttings to me (you know who ya are)

stay tuned. :-)
Cecil

In the past I have only brushed the cuttings after dunking them in the Dawn AB soap, I will do like you said and let them soak for an hour........one of my Hollier cuttings is down to one node, after I cut the mold off, I laid it in the UPM almost horizontally.

Again thanks
Cecil