Conference, workshops to cultivate growers' knowledge

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Operators of greenhouses, nurseries and garden centers can learn about new production techniques and get advice on marketing at the 2012 Indiana Flower Growers Association Bedding Plant Conference and a series of free educational workshops across the state.

The statewide IFGA conference will be Feb. 23 at Crossroads Greenhouse in Indianapolis. The Educational Series for Greenhouse and Nursery Growers and Garden Centers, funded by the Indiana Department of Agriculture, will be held at various sites beginning Jan. 18.

The conference will include sessions on temperature and light management, plant growth regulators, pest management, and marketing and economics for growers. It will begin with a tour of the greenhouses. Sessions will feature speakers from Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue universities, along with owners of successful greenhouses and marketing operations.

Horticulture Dept Organizes Growers Tour Program

Srinagar, India Nov 19: Seeking to promote private floriculture business in the Valley, the Floriculture Department Kashmir organized a two-day µtour program of growers.

Sheikh Shabir Ahmad, District Floriculture Officer, Srinagar told Greater Kashmir that the program facilitated interaction between growers from Srinagar with their professional counterparts in other districts of J&K.

“The objective of the programme was to boost private floriculture business,” Ahmad added. He said the registered growers from Srinagar district during the program shared their experiences with and learned from their professional counterparts from other districts. He said the visit was conducted under centrally Sponsored Scheme RKVY on Nov 18 and 19. He said the department acted as a facilitator.

Source: www.greaterkashmir.com

Holland: In glass horticulture planned expansions equal plans to stop

The percentage of glasshouse horticulturists with expansion plans is just about the same with 8.8% as those with plans to stop, namely 8.9%. The glasshouse vegetable sector is more positive than the average with 11% having plans to extend. This according to GlastuinbouwScanner Nederland 2011 of AgriDirect.

In the total group of glasshouse horticulturists the percentage of those with plans to extend or succession decreased by 9.5% in 2010 to 8.8% in 2011. The percentage of 'stoppers' increased in the same period from 8.4% to 8.9%. The same trends apply to companies with 2 HA or more of glass, although here the percentage of expansion plans is higher and the percentages regarding plans to stop much lower than the average in the sector.

Of the growers of vegetables under glass 11% have in the short term plans to enlarge the company or to arrange for succession. This is much higher than the average of the sector. Also the percentage of 'stoppers' in this group is one percent lower than in the total of the glasshouse horticultural sector. Growers of one-year garden and flowerbed plants are least positive, only 5.5% want to expand, 9.8% wants to stop or slow down in the short term.

Source: AgriDirect

New strawberry variety will extend local season and compete with imports

HALIFAX, N.S. — Strawberry lovers are getting a new type of egg-sized berry to sweeten their summers, a development 20 years in the making that might give Canadian growers a fresh advantage in an increasingly competitive market as well. Valley Sunset - named because it blooms late in the season - was developed in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley and will be available to growers next spring. Read more:

Canada: Hort growers' food safety audit fees to rise

The auditing body for the Canadian Horticultural Council's CanadaGAP on-farm food safety program plans to increase the fees it charges to growers.

QMI-SAI Global announced Wednesday it will increase its base audit rate to $525 from $420, starting Sept. 1. Its fee for audit report reviews in Quebec, where audits must be performed or supervised by a registered agronomist, will decrease to $70 from $175. Elsewhere, the report review fee will be included in the base rate.

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US: Purshade reduces sunburn and improves grade, driving higher value for apple growers worldwide

Solar plant protectant helps organic and conventional growers stay competitive US: Purshade reduces sunburn and improves grade, driving higher value for apple growers worldwide Read more:
US: Purshade reduces sunburn and improves grade, driving higher value for apple growers worldwide Source: freshplaza.com

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Growers' show for Devon will be a must

Monday 22nd June 2009
By Stephen Ivall »

The organisers behind one of the UK’s top commercial horticultural exhibitions are adopting a strategy to ensure that it develops into a ‘must visit’ show for anybody involved in commercial horticulture.

The South West Growers Show – which will take place on Wednesday October 7 at The Matford Centre in Exeter, Devon – has recently acquired a new management committee following its purchase from previous owners, The Haymarket Media Group.

Mark Taylor, chairman of the show said: “As both professional growers and businessmen, we have a thorough understanding of the horticulture industry, how best to build trading relationships and adopt new and emerging ideas into our vision for future shows.”

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Top vegetable grower honored

By JENNIFER COLTON/ jcolton@indexjournal.com
Thursday, June 18, 2009 12:51 AM EDT

When the Emerald City Rotary Club was chartered in 1982, one of its first projects was to recognize the Vegetable Grower of the Year at the Greenwood Farmers Market. The civic organization continued that tradition Wednesday, presenting the 2008 Vegetable Grower of the Year award to Bobby Smith, an Abbeville County farmer who has been a strong vendor and producer with the Greenwood Farmers Market for more than 15 years.

A former educator in the Abbeville County School District, Smith farms 55 acres in Abbeville County -- including more than 4 acres of vegetables with help from his brother, son and wife. The family produces squash, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, corn okra and various melon crops each year.

“Bobby, like many market vendors, has worked full time plus farmed on the side. After spending 38 years plus as a school teacher and principal in the Abbeville school system, he retired in 1995.

Since that time, he has increased his vegetable production and helped the Greenwood market to stay filled with fresh produce,” Rotary Club President Joe Langley said.Smith accepted the award and thanked the Emerald City Rotary Club for sponsoring the honor and the Greenwood Farmers Market Board and staff for providing growers the opportunity to sell.

Growers see gains with Ginkgo

Wednesday, 20 May 2009
By Stephanie Grainger, Wairoa Star

Frasertown's Bryan and Michelle Brownlie grow Ginkgo biloba, a tree originating from China which is used in a natural remedy claimed to assist with memory loss, lack of concentration, poor circulation, clotting disorders, tinnitus and anxiety.Two years ago they added 0.4 hectares of Ginkgo biloba to their kiwifruit orchard which complements their hill-country cattle and sheep farm.

They planted the ginkgos after reading an article stating Hawke's Bay was a good place to grow the exotic tree which is grown for its leaf."Bryan filed the information away, and when we needed something to fill a space in the orchard he found the article again and got in touch with Nature Green's John Knight," said Mrs Brownlie.Nature Green NZ Ltd manages the process from propagating ginkgo trees in the nursery and supplying growers with trees, to purchasing the dried leaf and then selling it to the global market.

Ginkgo biloba is rated by some as one of the top five herbal products consumed in the world today.

The Brownlie's crop is doing as well as expected, proving to be reliable and relatively low maintenance which Mrs Brownlie says is "a big up-side."The essential requirements for growing ginkgo are very simple.

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