New York State Flower Growers 
—# INCORPORATED = 

BULLETIN 7 
FEBRUARY 1946 
REPRINTED BY 
SUPERIOR BULB CO. LIMITED 
WITH PERMISSION OF 
NEW YORK STATE FLOWER GROWERS 
INCORPORATED 

Don’t Let Those Chrysanthemums Bud! 
Remember how the stock plants and rooted 
cuttings of chrysanthemums budded last spring? 
It might happen again. You can prevent it 
happening by lighting the plants for 30 min= 
utes each night from 12 to 12:30 or a similar 
period, Forty watt bulbs with reflectors, 
hung five feet on centers will do the job, 
Chrysanthemums bud when the days are less 
than 14 hours in length and the night tempera- 
ture is above 60 degrees. If the night tem 
perature goes above 60 before April 20 and 
you are not using lights, Saneor some budding, 
Continue the light treatment until April 20 
and start it not later than March 15, better 
March 1, You will also get more cuttings. 
Don't be in a hurry to propagate your 
mums, Cuttings taken April ir at be good 
for cloth work to flower in early September, 
Normal season bloom will be best from cuttings 
taken June 1 to 15. 
Professor Kenneth Post 
Department of Floriculture and Orna- 
mental Horticulture 
 etshadinltah dsthih tetateRetieeeatehed 
In This Issue 
Contact Your Assemblyman and Senator 
Don't Let Those Chrysanthemums Bud 
Fermate Injury to Rooted Cuttings 
Automatic Watering 
What Growers Say about Automatic Watering 
@ Revised Recommendations for Azobenzene 
Fermate Injury to Rooted Cuttings 
In the article entitled "Avoiding Dis- 
ease Carry-Over on Carnation Cuttings," which 
appeared in Bulletin 4 of the New York State 
Flower Growers, Inc., it was suggested as 
step 9 in the disease-control program that 
the rooted outtings be dipped, roots and all 
in Fermate solution before they were potted 
or flatted up. We had used this treatment 
many times on the varieties available with no 
evidence of injury. Within the past few weeks 
however, two or three growers have reported 
severe root injury to many varieties when this 
treatment was employed. The reaction of dif= 
ferent varieties varied greatly, ranging from 
a slicht, temporary injury to death of the 
plants. Other growers have used the treatment 
on many varieties with no apparent injury. 
Just why injury has occurred only on some va= 
riety and under some conditions we do not know 
Because of the risk involved, this practice of 
dipping the rooted cuttings should be discon- 
tinued until the problem is solved, 
In contrast to the contradictory results 
obtained with the dipped rooted cuttings, 
treatment of the unrooted cu ngs before 
sticking them into the sand (step 6), when 
used exactly as recommended has been consist—= 
ently safe and effective. Growers who expe- 
rienced root injury from dipped rooted cut- 
tings are enthusiastic about the results ob~ 
tained from dipping unrooted cuttings. The 
practice of dipping the unrooted cuttings be 
fore you put them into sand should therefore 
Be continued, 
Similar {nconsistencies have developed 
with geraniun-cutting treatments. Although 
tens of thousands of unrooted cuttings have 
been given the complete dip treatment with no 
apparent injury, some injury has been reported 
from dipping rooted cuttings. Here again we 
suggest that the complete dip of the rooted 
cuttings be used only in a trial way until we 
can determine the causes of the reported in- 
jury. Professor A. W, Dimock 
Department of Plant Pathology 

