through heat treatment, its the optimal goal. I am looking to purchase or trade for cuttings or small air layers of known UC Davis Black Ischia and Black Madeira cultivars. Please PM me if interested. Thank you.
There has been anecdotal evidence posted on the forum of fig trees with visible FMD, that grew healthier after the roots were subjected to high temperatures from solar heated potting mix, 130*F / 54*C and above, or after they regrew from the soiline after die back. It has also been my personal experience with a tree that was riddled with Visible FMD/FMV symptoms that produced healthy new growth from a root sucker which has been visibly FMD free for more than 2 seasons. I had also observed that many FMD symptoms were caused by nutrient deficiencies and or pH imbalance.
Since FMD symptoms can also be caused by nutrient deficiencies, I've been testing different fertilizer combinations and mineral supplements including water soluble fertilizers to find balanced fertilizers with all the necessary Macro and micro nutrients, which led to a hydroponic fig culture experiment earlier this season. I grew a few different cultivars in a hydroponic system modeled after the General Hydroponics WaterFarm8 and they were very successful for vegetative growth, but I have had more success producing actual figs in the standard 5-1-1 mix with solid organic and dilute Water soluble fertilizers.
Research on water soluble and hydroponic fertilizers which were needed for healthy root and vegetative growth in hydroponic culture led back to a way of providing a simple stable environment for root heat treatment of actively growing fig trees. Thermotherapy is currently being used to reduce and eliminate viral infection in fig and other fruit trees through Tissue Cultured meristem and plant Heat treatment but it is performed at lower temperatures on actively growing fig cultures for up to 2 months.
The fig plants in this test will be grown in a hydroponic nutrient solution for up to 3 months. The nutrient solution will be aerated and heated to a maximum temperature of 120*F but could easily be heated above 130*F. Once the roots are established the top growth will be pruned off to encourage regrowth from a subsurface node. The goal is to reduce or eliminate the infection of symptomatic plants, this experiment was originally planned for this spring but due to winter kill of the majority of my fig trees which included several FMV symptomatic plants, it was postponed
I only have a few cultivars that are still FMD symptomatic after balanced fertilizer treatment, and they will be included in this test, they are Violetta BR (Burnt Ridge), Beers Black (unknown source) and Petite Negri EL (Edible Landscaping). The setup, updates and results will be posted in this Topic.
http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/systems/waterfarm/waterfarm_8_pack/