Charles E. Hess Department of Environmental Horticulture University of
California Davis, CA 95616 Research in the biology of adventitious root
formation has a special place in science. It provides an excellent forum
in which to pursue fundamental research on the regulation of plant
growth and development. At the same time the results of the research
have been quickly applied by commercial plant propagators, agronomists,
foresters and horticulturists (see the chapter by Kovar and Kuchenbuch,
by Ritchie, and by Davies and coworkers in this volume). In an era when
there is great interest in speeding technology transfer, the experiences
gained in research in adventitious root formation may provide useful
examples for other areas of science. Interaction between the fundamental
and the applied have been and continue to be facilitated by the
establishment, in 1951, of the Plant Propagators' Society, which has
evolved into the International Plant Propagators' Society, with active
programs in six regions around the world. It is a unique organization
which brings together researchers in universities, botanical gardens and
arboreta, and commercial plant propagators. In this synergistic
environment new knowledge is rapidly transferred and new ideas for
fundamental research evolve from the presentations and discussions by
experienced plant propagators. In the past 50 years, based on research
related to the biology of adventitious root formation, advances in plant
propagation have been made on two major fronts.