Propagation & Cloning
Clone Sanitation & Cross-Contamination
Propagation concentrates many wounds, tools, hands, surfaces, and young plants into a small area. A clean-to-dirty workflow and traceable batches reduce the chance of moving pests or pathogens through an entire clone population.
Key concepts
- Cutting tools can move biological material from plant to plant
- Shared trays, domes, benches, and runoff can connect otherwise separate batches
- Sanitation needs a defined method and contact process rather than an unlabeled spray bottle
- Batch identity makes later investigation possible
What to measure or observe
- Document tool-cleaning steps
- Label trays by source and date
- Inspect work surfaces between batches
- Record any batch with unusual losses or symptoms
Common mistakes
- Using one tool continuously across all source plants
- Reusing dirty propagation equipment
- Combining weak and healthy batches
- Losing source identity after roots appear
Visuals this lesson still needs
- Clean-to-dirty workflow
- Tool sanitation sequence
- Propagation cross-contamination map
- Batch labeling example