Poinsettia seedling to branch, resulting in a bushier plant. In the late 1980s, university researcher John Dole discovered the method previously known only to the Eckes and published it, allowing competitors to flourish, particularly those using low-cost labor in Latin America. The Ecke family's business, now led by Paul Ecke III, decided to stop producing plants in the U.S., but as of 2008, they still serve about 70 percent of the domestic market and 50 percent of the worldwide market. The poinsettia has been cultivated in Egypt since the 1860s, when it was brought from Mexico during the Egyptian campaign. It
2010 Poinsettia Bowl At the end of the 2009 season, the Midshipmen upset the Missouri Tigers in the Texas Bowl with a score of 35–13. The 2010 game was the eighth straight bowl game appearance for the Midshipmen. This was San Diego State's first bowl appearance since the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl. Under second year head coach Brady Hoke the Aztecs posted an 8–4 regular season record. Although this is SDSU's first appearance in the Poinsettia bowl the game will mark the second time that the Aztecs will be playing a bowl game at Qualcomm Stadium. They were defeated by Iowa in the