David Dobos
Senior, Environmental Horticulture
Research Project: Propagation media and rooting response
Objective: Evaluate the performance of various propagation medias used for rooting of plant cuttings. Growers buy in cuttings instead of starting their own plants from seed. Cuttings arrive packed in boxes without any root system. A grower sticks the cuttings into media and places them under mist to keep them hydrated until a root system is developed. Because there are many different propagation medias, discovering the media with the best rooting response is a cost effective measure for the growers. I found this research opportunity invaluable as I participated in actual scientific research allowing me to apply classroom research techniques in the process.
