make certain it is free of verticillium 
wilt, and this cultured stock becomes 
the nucleus stock for disease-free plants. 
Small wonder that our cuttings are 
strong and healthy when you learn that 
all stock is sprayed with insecticide 
once a week. 
Under a pathology set-up in the 
Culturing Room, where sterile condi- 
tions are maintained, samples of all 
varieties are checked for the nature, 
cause, progress and result of disease. 
A section of the stem of all varieties is 
taken and put in sterile media. If the 
organism appears, the plant is infected. 
All new varieties are checked for sus- 
ceptibility by taking a single plant and 
innoculating it with the verticillium 
organism. Whether it is very suscep- 
tible or not is immediately apparent. 
Production Steps 
In the Production Plant, the first step 
is preparation of thesoil. Theold plants 
are first removed. Then the soil—which 
is sand, with body, but no organic 
matter — is manured, Rototilled and 
steam sterilized. 
Every week during the shipping 
season (which has usually been January 
1 to July 31), cuttings are taken from 
stock plants and planted in squares, 
4” x 4", in the propagation benches. 
There they remain for about three weeks 
before being lifted out into baskets, 
then packed and shipped. Before any 
cuttings are placed in benches, how- 
ever, the entire area is cultivated and 
steam sterilized. In this process, the 
bench is shrouded in canvas-like blank- 
ets with iron uprights to keep the 
blankets from bogging down and creat- 
ing pockets. Every 100 feet along the 
steam pipe there are three steam outlets. 
The shipping box is a standard size. 
Each holds 500 cuttings, packed 25 in 
a cell, with wet sphagnum moss lining 
the bottom to keep the cuttings moist 
and fresh. 
A Packing List copy is sent to the 
customer 3 to 5 days before shipment 
to let him know exactly what he is 
getting and when. By getting as much 
as possible done in advance, once our 
growers decide to ship, a minimum of 
time is lost between taking the cuttings 
out of the benches and getting the 
correct labels, nursery certificate of in- 
spection and waybills on the shipping 
boxes. 
Orders are filed according to the fe- 
quested shipping date and are given 
preference according to the date te- 
ceived. It, therefore, is advisable to 
order early. This helps the growers to 
Cuttings being planted in squares, 4"x4", in propagation benches. 


