**1. Management of mother plants**

Mother plants are grown in pots in a greenhouse from the best buds of tubers or cuttings with disease free. For optimal use of the greenhouse space, plants with 3 or 4 stems are preferable, depending on the size of the pot and the cultivar.

When tubers are used to produce mother plants two methods of planting exist:


Aerial stolons are harvested as cuttings. When mother plants are 2530 cm tall, each stem is decapitated. This eliminates apical dominance and stimulates the development of lateral branches from the axillary buds of each leaf. After 1520 days, the cuttings are ready for harvest.

Mother plants must be fertilized with nitrogen for rapid growth and phosphorus for rapid root development. Liquid fertilizer is desired after beheading and after each harvest of cuttings. A suitable solution is obtained when 5 gr of 12-14-12 fertilizer is dissolved in 1 litre of water.
