Hi, I know that figs require at least 100 hours of dormancy to help produce a better crop but do first year cuttings require dormancy since your not interested in fruiting yet or can you just let them continue growing if you bring them in for the winter for growers in cold climates?  I know that dormancy is also a resting period for the plant which is also beneficial but I'm just wondering if its necessary for a young fig cutting.

I don't know definitively. But I am growing selected young plants indoors over the winter and will force dormancy in late winter or early spring. The number of hours that is often quoted for dormancy/chill hours is 100 -300, that is 1 to 2 weeks total time.

I plan on reducing water and putting the young plants outdoors in spring, when the temperature is in the 30's to 40's (at night) to induce dormancy, which I will maintain for 3 weeks.

There is also the comments about "over fertilizing" figs which "reduces fig production and promotes vegetative growth". I would think that this would be a good thing in a young potted plant, producing the most growth possible. I am aware that part of the reason for this warning is to also allow for hardened (lignified) wood for winter dormancy, but with proper management and planning the air temperature should never get below freezing (growing indoors or protected environment).

Note: Several of my young plants, which are currently growing indoors, from cuttings started in summer, are already producing fig embryos, which will be pinched.

Edit: Growing the plants indoors and over fertilization would only apply to young plants, to get a head start for the next growing season. After a healthy young plant and shape is achieved the plants should be grown with best cultural practice. I plan on growing the majority of my fig trees in ground.

This tree which I rooted from a cutting in early 2011,  spent it's first 14 months as an indoor house plant.   I planted it in ground in mid April of this year, in the Arizona, desert, when our low temps remained above 45 degrees. 

It did not go dormant.  It received little or no hours of "chill."  It is now a 6 foot tall healthy tree which ripened 6 or 7 breba figs July and twice that many main crop figs in October/November.  I fertilized the heck out of it in the spring and summer because I wanted a big healthy tree.

Would it have produced more figs this first year in ground if it had gone dormant and/or received 100 hours of chill?

I dunno......

Sometimes where you live simply prevents dormancy. I live in a coastal Mediterranean climate similar to where many figs originated. We get light frost maybe once every 30 years, or so we've been told. And with climate change, it will likely get warmer/weirder. Figs around here lose most of their leaves in winter, and that's about it. It would be a surprise if we get 100 hours of chill. They seem to bear quite well.

My own young plants I intend to actively grow as much as I can right through the winter. I'm going for vegetative growth, but no doubt there will be a good number of fruits too, since plants grown from cuttings fruited when they were less than a year old. 

The plants have their own dormancy requirements and I believe the ones in ground plants will eventually adopt to the local cycle if planted outside.
Someone already mentioned the minimum requirements that could apply to the potted pots.
But I have my own requirements for my potted plants dormancy. I don't want to babysit them, young or old, during the winter months in the cold winter and limited space and would prefer that they sleep well until it is safe outside for them to come out. They need rest and so do I. This way we both will have a fresh start outside.

Great pictures Dave

Hi Dave- Do you know the name of the fig in you pictures? They do look great.

They grow year round in the tropics and seem to be fine. They will go dormant in cold weather, even if temps do not reach "chill hour" temps. I wouldn't sweat the chill reqs. Also, young trees are much more reluctant to go dormant, often keeping their leaves all winter if they do not get frost. That seems to be normal, so don't panic if that happens.

in tropical regions such as Indonesia fig tree continues to grow and continue to produce fruit .... dormant occurs when the soil is not suitable or no pests in the soil