Big Clones.....and air layers.....

FatherEarth said:

A woody stem when cut from the plant will take longer. On the plant it would root the same as the "scarification" will induce the rooting as the hormones in the plant are available where as if it was cut off the plant these rooting hormones would not be available in as high of concentrations...

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Asexual Propagation

Asexual propagation (cloning) allows the preservation of genotype because only normal cell division (mitosis) occurs during growth and regeneration. The vegetative (non-reproductive) tissue of Cannabis has 10 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell. This is known as the diploid (2n) condition where 2n = 20 chromosomes. During mitosis every chromosome pair replicates and one of the two identical sets of chromosome pairs migrates to each daughter cell, which now has a genotype identical to the mother cell.

Consequently, every vegetative cell in a Cannabis plant has the same genotype and a plant resulting from asexual propagation will have the same genotype as the mother plant and will, for all practical purposes, develop identically under the same environmental conditions.

In Cannabis, mitosis takes place in the shoot apex (meristem), root tip meristems, and the meristematic cambium layer of the stalk. A propagator makes use of these meristematic areas to produce clones that will grow and be multiplied.
Asexual propagation techniques such as cuttage, layerage, and division of roots can ensure identical populations as large as the growth and development of the parental material will permit. Clones can be produced from even a single cell, because every cell of the plant possesses the genetic information necessary to regenerate a complete plant.

Asexual propagation produces clones which perpetuate the unique characteristics of the parent plant. Because of the heterozygous nature of Cannabis, valuable traits may be lost by sexual propagation that can be preserved and multiplied by cloning. Propagation of nearly identical populations of all-pistillate, fast growing, evenly maturing Cannabis is made possible through cloning.

Any agricultural or environmental influences will affect all the members of that clone equally.
The concept of clone does not mean that all members of the clone will necessarily appear identical in all characteristics. The phenotype that we observe in an individual is influenced by its surroundings. Therefore, members of the clone will develop differently under varying environmental conditions. These influences do not affect genotype and therefore are not permanent. Cloning theoretically can pre serve a genotype forever. Vigor may slowly decline due to poor selection of clone material or the constant pressure of disease or environmental stress, but this trend will re verse if the pressures are removed. Shifts in genetic composition occasionally occur during selection for vigorous growth. However, if parental strains are maintained by in frequent cloning this is less likely. Only mutation of a gene in a vegetative cell that then divides and passes on the mutated gene will permanently affect the genotype of the clone. If this mutated portion is cloned or reproduced sexually, the mutant genotype will be further replicated. Mutations in clones usually affect dominance relations and are therefore noticed immediately. Mutations may be induced artificially (but without much predictability) by treating meristematic regions with X-rays, colchicine, or other mutagens.
The genetic uniformity provided by clones offers a control for experiments designed to quantify the subtle effects of environment and cultural techniques. These subtleties are usually obscured by the extreme diversity resulting from sexual propagation. However, clonal uniformity can also invite serious problems. If a population of clones is subjected to sudden environmental stress, pests, or disease for which it has no defense, every member of the clone is sure to be affected and the entire population may be lost. Since no genetic diversity is found within the clone, no adaptation to new stresses can occur through recombination of genes as in a sexually propagated population.
In propagation by cuttage or layerage it is only necessary for a new root system to form, since the meristematic shoot apex comes directly from the parental plant. Many stem cells, even in mature plants, have the capability of producing adventitious roots. In fact, every vegetative cell in the plant contains the genetic information needed for an entire plant. Adventitious roots appear spontaneously from stems and old roots as opposed to systemic roots which appear along the developing root system originating in the embryo. In humid conditions (as in the tropics or a green house) adventitious roots occur naturally along the main stalk near the ground and along limbs where they droop and touch the ground.
Rooting
A knowledge of the internal structure of the stem is helpful in understanding the origin of adventitious roots.
The development of adventitious roots can be broken down into three stages:
(1) the initiation of meristematic cells located just outside and between the vascular bundles (the root initials),
(2) the differentiation of these meristematic cells into root primordia, and
(3) the emergence and growth of new roots by rupturing old stem tissue and establishing vascular connections with the shoot.

As the root initials divide, the groups of cells take on the appearance of a small root tip. A vascular system forms with the adjacent vascular bundles and the root continues to grow outward through the cortex until the tip emerges from the epidermis of the stem. Initiation of root growth usually begins within a week and young roots appear within four weeks. Often an irregular mass of white cells, termed callus tissue, will form on the surface of the stem adjacent to the areas of root initiation. This tissue has no influence on root formation. However, it is a form of regenerative tissue and is a sign that conditions are favorable for root initiation.
The physiological basis for root initiation is well understood and allows many advantageous modifications of rooting systems. Natural plant growth substances such as auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins are certainly responsible for the control of root initiation and the rate of root formation. Auxins are considered the most influential. Auxins and other growth substances are involved in the control of virtually all plant processes: stem growth, root formation, lateral bud inhibition, floral maturation, fruit development, and determination of sex. Great care is exercised in application of artificial growth substances so that detrimental conflicting reactions in addition to rooting do not occur. Auxins seem to affect most related plant species in the same way, but the mechanism of this action is not yet fully understood.
Many synthetic compounds have been shown to have auxin activity and are commercially available, such as napthaleneacetic acid (NAA), indolebutyric acid (IBA), and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4 DPA), but only indoleacetic acid has been isolated from plants. Naturally occurring auxin is formed mainly in the apical shoot men stem and young leaves. It moves downward after its formation at the growing shoot tip, but massive concentrations of auxins in rooting solutions will force travel up the vascular tissue. Knowledge of the physiology of auxins has led to practical applications in rooting cuttings. It was shown originally by Went and later by Thimann and Went that auxins promote adventitious root formation in stem cuttings. Since application of natural or synthetic auxin seems to stimulate adventitious root formation in many plants, it is assumed that auxin levels are associated with the formation of root initials. Further research by Warmke and Warmke (1950) suggested that the levels of auxin may determine whether adventitious roots or shoots are formed, with high auxin levels promoting root growth and low levels favoring shoots.

Cytokinins are chemical compounds that stimulate cell growth. In stem cuttings, cytokinins suppress root growth and stimulate bud growth.
This is the opposite of the reaction caused by auxins, suggesting that a natural balance of the two may be responsible for regulating nor mal plant growth. Skoog discusses the use of solutions of equal concentrations of auxins and cytokinins to pro mote the growth of undifferentiated callus tissues. This may provide a handy source of undifferentiated material for cellular cloning.
Although Cannabis cuttings and layers root easily, variations in rootability exist and old stems may resist rooting. Selection of rooting material is highly important. Young, firm, vegetative shoots, 3 to 7 millimeters (1/8 to 1⁄4 inch) in diameter, root most easily. Weak, unhealthy plants are avoided, along with large woody branches and reproductive tissues, since these are slower to root. Stems of high carbohydrate content root most easily. Firmness is a sign of high carbohydrate levels in stems but may be con fused with older woody tissue. An accurate method of determining the carbohydrate content of cuttings is the iodine starch test. The freshly cut ends of a bundle of cuttings are immersed in a weak solution of iodine in potassium iodide. Cuttings containing the highest starch content stain the darkest; the samples are rinsed and sorted accordingly. High nitrogen content cuttings seem to root more poorly than cuttings with medium to low nitrogen content. Therefore, young, rapidly-growing stems of high nitrogen and low carbohydrate content root less well than slightly older cuttings. For rooting, sections are selected that have ceased elongating and are beginning radial growth. Staminate plants have higher average levels of carbohydrates than pistillate plants, while pistillate plants exhibit higher nitrogen levels. It is unknown whether sex influences rooting, but cuttings from vegetative tissue are taken just after sex determination while stems are still young. For rooting cloning stock or parental plants, the favorable balance (low nitrogen-to-high carbohydrate) is achieved in several ways:

1 - Reduction of the nitrogen supply will slow shoot growth and allow time for carbohydrates to accumulate. This can be accomplished by leaching (rinsing the soil with large amounts of fresh water), withholding nitrogenous fertilizer, and allowing stock plants to grow in full sun light. Crowding of roots reduces excessive vegetative growth and allows for carbohydrate accumulation.

2 - Portions of the plant that are most likely to root are selected. Lower branches that have ceased lateral growth and begun to accumulate starch are the best. The carbohydrate-to-nitrogen ratio rises as you move away from the tip of the limb, so cuttings are not made too short.

3 - Etiolation is the growth of stem tissue in total darkness to increase the possibility of root initiation. Starch levels drop, strengthening tissues and fibers begin to soften, cell wall thickness decreases, vascular tissue is diminished, auxin levels rise, and undifferentiated tissue begins to form. These conditions are very conducive to the initiation of root growth. If the light cycle can be controlled, whole plants can be subjected to etiolation, but usually single limbs are selected for cloning and wrapped for several inches just above the area where the cutting will be taken. This is done two weeks prior to rooting. The etiolated end may then be unwrapped and inserted into the rooting medium. Various methods of layers and cuttings rooted below soil level rely in part on the effects of etiolation.

4 - Girdling a stem by cutting the phloem with a knife or crushing it with a twisted wire may block the downward mobility of carbohydrates and auxin and rooting cofactors, raising the concentration of these valuable components of root initiation above the girdle.
Making Cuttings
Cuttings of relatively young vegetative limbs 10 to 45 centimeters (4 to 18 inches) are made with a sharp knife or razor blade and immediately placed in a container of clean, pure water so the cut ends are well covered. It is essential that the cuttings be placed in water as soon as they are removed or a bubble of air (embolism) may enter the cut end and block the transpiration stream in the cutting, causing it to wilt. Cuttings made under water avoid the possibility of an embolism. If cuttings are exposed to the air they are cut again before being inserted into the rooting medium.
The medium should be warm and moist before cut tings are removed from the parental plant. Rows of holes are made in the rooting medium with a tapered stick, slightly larger in diameter than the cutting, leaving at least 10 centimeters (4 inches) between each hole. The cuttings are removed from the water, the end to be rooted treated with growth regulators and fungicides (such as Rootone F or Hormex), and each cutting placed in its hole. The cut end of the shoot is kept at least 10 centimeters (4 inches) from the bottom of the medium. The rooting medium is lightly tamped around the cutting, taking care not to scrape off the growth regulators. During the first few days the cuttings are checked frequently to make sure every thing is working properly. The cuttings are then watered with a mild nutrient solution once a day.

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Mate Dave said:

By etiolated I mean leggy and not sturdy... Not grown in darkness.

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