Environmental concerns are driving new and innovative ways of conserving water. Regulations and tighter control on runoff from horticulture production facilities are making it ever more important to conserve water for the future health of our industry. Besides being wasteful, excessive water application in propagation greenhouses can cause crop problems such as nutrient leaching, root rot and algal growth, which increases the production costs associated with fertilizers, fungicides and water treatment.Additionally, excess water applied during propagation can inhibit rooting by reducing the available oxygen necessary for adventitious root formation. With these facts in mind, a research project at Clemson University was initiated with the support of theUSDA-ARS Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative to quantify the water requirements of unrooted cuttings in propagation. The goals of this ongoing project are to provide the greenhouse industry with benchmarks for water use in propagation, as wellas recommendations for how to best achieve those benchmarks.
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