I used a wire brush to scratch the entire surface of each cutting. I used the the strongest recommended dilution of Dip N Grow which is roughly 1% IBA to thoroughly wet the entire length of cutting. The idea was to have more absorption of IBA through the areas that were scratched nearly down to cambium. Note: Powdered  Root Hormone is around .001 % IBA...not strong enough

Initially i just used the dip n grow on all of my USDA cuttings and they were slow going. So at two weeks i applied this method. The photos are just under two weeks from the second application. 
Another aspect of my new method includes using 80% perlite with Miracle Gro Sphagnum Moss which has slow release fertilizer(ideal for developing roots). They key for my high success this time around is to keep the mix barely damp...most would think it too dry. This completely eliminates mold and the roots tend to shoot out more to search for moisture unlike in very damp medium. All the cuttings are in a clear rubbermaid with the lid laid on top but not locked on. I believe this is another key, if the lid was sealed and opened periodically i would still get lots of mold due to reduced air flow. Im in the Houston area and it is very humid so in a dryer climate you may have to dampen the mix more to prevent drying out too often.

Note how the roots have form in vertical channels, they formed almost the entire length of the scratches on the bottom base. More roots=more growth. 

In case you are wondering i had about ten varieties and they all rooted like this with only a few exceptions.

   

Justin, the roots look great.  My only concern with high concentrations of rooting hormone is that you will get extensive root development at the cost of leaf growth.  Someone on the forum did a test of varying levels of root hormone (sorry cannot find the thread but I think it was ascpete).  He found that very moderate levels of hormone (or none) were better than the higher levels.  According to my recollection at higher levels some cuttings had huge amounts of roots but no leaves.

Correct, Steve.  That was a thread by ascpete and my experiences with even diluted Dip N Grow showed great root development but problems with the cuttings actually growing.  I had large roots but the cuttings died!  I believe someone else in that thread posted a link to a paper on roses which explained that IBA inhibits bud break.  I've had much better success this year without using any rooting hormone.

Thanks for the info guys, i guess only time will tell. Some of the Mary Lane cuttings  have leafed out nicely already. I will keep us posted on the results of the whole batch.

Just to confirm, i used the 5x dilution of Dip N Grow...which is not higher than the recommended concentration for hardwood cuttings.

I received about a dozen cuttings from someone one time and I stuck them in plastic cups with potting mix and they grew roots extremely fast.  I thought, wow, this is great.  Problem is they all ended up dying.  Why?  Don't know.  But perhaps they spent all their energy on those roots then when the leaves didn't grow they eventually starved. 

The ideal situation is for roots and leaves to be in sync somewhat, with the roots ahead so that you don't have a lot of leaves dropping due to lack of moisture.  I could see where too many roots too fast could be a problem.  At the end of the day leaves are required for the plant to produce sugar/energy.

I suspect that you can have success with or without the hormone.  Most varieties of figs do just fine without any.  Maybe for the varieties that are harder to root it would be helpful, or if you had a variety with cuttings that tended to push leaves rather than roots.