I have seen and read the experiences of those who use hormone - dip n grow comes to mind.

I would like to know how long the hormones' effects last?  Does it carry through the plants first year of life?  2nd year? 

Has anyone done a side by side study of the long term effects of rooting hormone with everything else equal?

Are certain varieties more responsive to rooting hormone then others, and does it carry through the growth of the plants first year?

I use dip and grow and have noticed no long term effects, some scones will root easy and faster than other with or with out the dip n grow. i have used alot of differant harmone and my findingd are stay away from powders. gels and liquid soak into the plant tissue while all i have got with powder is moldy roted cuttings.

It has effect for about 4 weeks then the chemicals are fully metabolized.  This is the case for just about anything with a cell wall.

Hi Jo-Ann,
I also use the dip and grow.  I can't tell if really makes a difference but it's been working for me.  So far, with a very limited sample size, I have yet to have one not root.

I may have to change this post as I do  have one of three black maderia that may break that streak (Not quite a month so still too early to tell).  Naturally occurring hormones for plants and two to three years before figs so not too concerned about long term effects.

Here is the MSDS fact sheet for indole-3-butyric acid or IBA:

http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/2330fact.pdf

While never doing a study as im not that smart iv'e tried all sort of stuff like the
clonex red which is suppose to have or did years ago have the highest concentration of IBA as the red was made specific for hardwood rooting, gel cups i also tried, dip in grow etc.
In short the ole fashion way worked great also.

using the dip and grow i have found gives roots faster and a little more dense. if you score with dip n grow then you really tell a differance

Here is what I do.  I wash the cuttings very good and let them dry.  I then take the point of an exacto knife blade and 3-4 scores from the bottom of the second node to the bottom of the cutting.  If the cuttings are big enough, I then write the name on them with a paint pen.  I then place them in 10x solution of Dip N Grow for about 5-10 seconds as I prep the spaghnum moss (I use the orchid type, it is fluffier and seems to be much better quality - buy it at HD or Lowes).  I then alternate the cuttings head to toe and put about 4-5 per layer in a plastic shoe box.  Cover with more moss and a very slightly damp paper towel and repeat.  Can get at least 2 or 3 layers.  I have found that I get much greater density roots the entire length of the area I scored.  Usually only takes 10 days or so to have at least 1-2 inches long.  The spaghnum moss is just barely damp.  Wet and squeeze out as much water as possible.  I cover the boxes with a black plastic garbage bag.

I have never had a mold problem using the better grade of moss...could be I am just lucky.  So far, I am batting about 95% rooting.  I loose a few while in cups...too much love (water)....lol...just can't help myself.

this is a pic of a single score treated with dip n grow at 1-10 mix two weeks after treatment.

to start with i would have to say yes, but only due to the amount of roots gotten from the treatment. but a if you take two cuttings from the same tree and treat one but not the other, 1 year later you would not be able to tell which was treated or not. about a month or so after treatment there is no sign of the compounds in the plant tissue as it had wore off.

but i would have to say that the treated would start better than the not treated, and this may or may not have to do with the rooting agent as much as scoring or root mass (scared area where callis forms). i am sure some figs produce roots rather quickly while others do not. most cuttings i root with out rooting agent take 4-6 weeks for roots. where as treated cuttings i usualy see roots in 2-3 weeks.

I have rooted cuttings both ways but now for my own resons do all the same way, one or 2 scores and treatment with dip n grow just because i have had great results that way.

I've used rooting hormone powder and honey to try and getting better and faster root development. The hormone powder seems to work but I think the cutting would have rooted without it. The honey I'm still waiting to see what happens. I don't know much about the homone's and what they are suppose to do. I'm going to try mykos and azos next time to see if I can get better roots.

Jo-Ann,
I have been comparing Hormone (Dip N Grow) treated and untreated cuttings and IMO, hormone is not necessary. The only gain has been to reduce the amount of time (2 weeks) the cutting is in the Sphagnum Moss. The amount of root development for the untreated cuttings is similar to the hormone treated with the 2 week difference. The cuttings are currently in 16oz cups and I will be growing the cuttings out for future comparison. Currently, there are no differences in growth rate between the two groups of cuttings (I would be surprised if there were).

The rooting hormone is just that, it stimulates root initialization and root growth. Keep in mind that the roots are produced from the stored energy within the cuttings and excessive root growth may damage(retard or kill the cutting). Having only a two week difference between the two, really does not justify its regular use on fig cuttings.

Note: Powdered Hormone has been reported to cause rotting, I have personally experienced this using Schultz's last season in my early rooting experiments.