I am competing with mold on some cuttings. Frequent cleaning with 10% bleach or just brushing bruises the cuttings. I gave up on some cuttings but still working on others. I thought I should ask if others in similar situations have successfully rooted some moderately mold prone cutting and how.
I know there is no definition of 'moderately mold prone' but I know extremely mold prone is a lost cause no mater what.
I also have heard here and on GW that if you see mold just discard the cutting and start another one. This is a genuinely good advice for those who can genuinely say there are more cuttings where this one with the mold came from. Not everyone can say that though.

I have had some moldy cuttings when rooting in the bag. The cuttings had been scrubbed with soap and sprayed with 10% bleach before going into the bag. When they became moldy, if roots hadn't formed, I took them out, cleaned them with soap and water and 10% bleach, discarded the paper wrapper and rewrapped. I had more problem with paper towels than newspaper and generally, if there was mold, the paper was too wet or I had not been opening the bag enough to exchange air. Now I leave the bags open for a day or two to get humidity levels right before I close them and make it a point to air them out every day or two. Some formerly "furry" cuttings are now happily growing roots and leaves, some aren't.

Thanks scott, that is encouraging where there is dearth of cuttings.

You mentioned "sprayed with 10% bleach before going into the bag". Do you rinse away the bleach before putting in the bag or leave the 10% bleach spray on it. Some threads ago someone mentioned that they leave the bleach spray on because it could be the bleach residue that inhibits the mold (or retards it).
As far `as the level of newspaper wetness is concerned, I spray water on it to make it moist with not enough moisture to drip, then press it between two dry sheets of newspaper. Is it wet just enough or need to be dry than this? This moisture level may be one of the keys in addition to airing at appropriate intervals to avoid the mold. 
You also mentioned "if roots hadn't formed". What do you mean? What if the roots had formed and the mold was there (or is that not possible)?

Some survive mold. It depends on how much, and what type. More success with ones that got moldy on the part sticking out of the perlite/vermic mix in the cups, and less with ones that got moldy in the bags. Still. mold in never a good thing.

Hi Jon
two questions based on your input:
1. Is it necessary that a part of the cutting be sticking out of the Perlite/Vermiculite rooting mixture? I had a cutting whee the shoot came out an inch away from the part of the cutting sticking out of the mixture?

2. You mentioned that "ones that got moldy on the part sticking out of the perlite/vermiculite mix in the cups". Does it mean that the part buried in the mixture will not have mold when the sticking out portion has mold? I wish it was true (and then we can bury the whole length in the mixture to avoid mold.
I will appreciate response from Jon or any other reader.

Cuttings that die back below the level of the rooting medium can sprout and grow from subsurface nodes. I suspect that that is not an optimum approach, as it uses more energy before there are leaves are available to star photosynthesis.

The above surface and below surface portions have different environments, and moisture levels, and I suspect mold/rot for different reasons. Below surface may be rot and not mold.

Hi Ottawan

No, I don't rinse the bleach off I don't think it hurts the cutting. The roots are really fragile and won't stand scrubbing or bleach. So for me, if they mold at that point, they're gone. I think you're right, the moisture level is the key. Mine are always too wet, so I have been leaving the bags open (unzipped) for a day or two.

One more question that relates to cuttings received from areas with high humidity or frequent rains. Some have mentioned before, and it is my observation over the short period of rooting fig cuttings, that cuttings from such areas are more mold prone when attempt to rooting is done by recipients in other places.
Could this sensitivity to mold occurrence be due to high moisture contents in the cuttings wood and bark?
If it is true, would then a prolong storage in frig help reduce the cutting moisture and thus sensitivity to mold, and how prolong will be enough?
Would it be OK to store such cuttings in the fridge without moistening paper and just wrap in dry newspaper (because even at 35F in fridge such cuttings get mold within a week with very slight moisening of paper warp)?

Recently I got a bunch of cuttings from a very kind fig guru in Vancouver.  Being a newbie, I started the rooting process immediately using the bag method & I came away with very good results on my 30+ cuttings.  Only had 1 cutting with a tiny  bit of mold & 1 cutting had no root initiation. The cutting that  had mold,  happen to occur at a particular spot where there was an air pocket in my wrapping because it was not a straight cutting. I  prepared my cuttings as per Al Tapla, Leon_Edmund, Hyell recommendations.  Things I did are as follows:

   1. I make sure the newspaper wrappings are wet. Reasoning behind is that molds
       have harder chance to start when it is sufficiently wet/very wet.

   2. I try to make sure the newspaper wrappings are wrapped with as much cont-
       act as possible with the cutting. Eliminating as much air pocket as possible.

   3. I wrapped the cuttings individually, idea is to stop mold from spreading if
       they are present. I would only keep maximun 3 cuttings per bag.

   4. I changed the newspaper wrappings 3 times over 3 weeks to stop mold taking
       a foothold. I rinse the cuttings throughly each time I changed the wrappings.

   5. The bags were aired every 2/3 days.

   6. I kept my bagged cuttings in an apartment boiler room - constant temperature
       probably around 25*C(78*F).

Hope my experience will help you Ottawan. Good luck.

Thought this cutting was a goner. The part above the perlite was really ugly, but the portion below was rooting and still viable. Trimmed it and potted it up. We'll see how it fares in the weeks ahead. 

Paully: You mentioned "1. I make sure the newspaper wrappings are wet. Reasoning behind is that molds have harder chance to start when it is sufficiently wet/very wet." unquote.
I always used moist paper and not wet; everything else being the same as you suggested (except removing the air-pocket bewteen the cutting and the paper).
I will do an experiment. I have two mold pron cuttings that I dried up unwrapped for the last 12 hours. I will wrap one in real wet newspaper and the other one in less moist than before and see what happens to these two.
Say, on the mark.. get set.. go.

(If it works i.e. high level of wetness inhibits or retards mold, it will be a great reversal of common understanding, or at least my understanding).

No loss in trying Ottawan. I was incorporating part of my work experience  where I come across molds  frequently in service plumbing & especially  when it is just moist, I see lots of molds versus when it is very wet. Changing the newspaper, contact with the cuttings and high humidity to me is equally important. Just my 2 cents. It worked for me now ( least expected) & I am very happy as  my first attempt at rooting via the bag method in early 2007 was a total failure.

I had a couple cuttings that formed thready mold before I had set them into perlite(they had been in a bag in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator previously).  I cleaned, scrubbed with a toothbrush and dipped them into a dilute Bordeaux mix before potting up. 

No re-occurance has occurred, though they have only been in perlite for a week or so.  One cutting has 2 white spots on it (I also used peroxide on it there because there were nodes there) but still no re-occurance of mold.  I just hope the dip into bordeaux does not inhibit rooting.  I only dipped the top 3-4 inches of each cutting into the mixture, so the parts beneath the perlite should be bordeaux free.

I'll see what happens in time I guess.

~Chills