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Looking to grow better crops and save money?

June 14, 2011  By Dave Harrison


June 14, 2011, Brantford, Ont. — This Friday's Greenhouse Canada Grower Day
educational sessions have ideas
to help with your improved efficiency and cost-containment goals. If
boosting efficiencies and saving money are your goals, Grower Day is the
place to be.

June 14, 2011, Brantford, Ont. — This Friday's Greenhouse Canada Grower Day
educational sessions have ideas
to help with your improved efficiency and cost-containment goals. If boosting efficiencies and saving money are your goals, Grower Day is the place to be.

Grower Day will be held Friday, June 17, at the Best Western Brant Park
Inn Conference Centre in Brantford, Ont. Doors open at 8 a.m. and
registration begins at 8:30, with the talks getting underway at 9:30. Online registration is encouraged to reduce lineups, with tickets also available at the door.
 
Concurrent vegetable and flower talks will be held throughout the day.
Moderators are Melhem Sawaya (Focus Greenhouse Management) and Greenhouse Canada editor
Dave Harrison. A mini trade show will also be onsite profiling the latest cropping and production solutions. The luncheon will also offer numerous networking opportunities.

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VEGETABLE PROGRAM
9:30-10 — Rachel Carson, product development manager at Plant Products
The topic: Essentials of Micronutrient Nutrition in Greenhouse Vegetables
The talk: This seminar will outline some of the many important
functions micronutrients play in greenhouse vegetable products, symptoms
of micronutrient deficiencies and options for correction.

10-10:30 — Shalin Khosla, greenhouse vegetable specialist, OMAFRA
The topic: Water Quality and Irrigation
The talk: A discussion of water quality and its impact on dripper performance.

10-10:45 — Coffee break

10:50-11:20 — Gillian Ferguson, greenhouse vegetable IPM specialist with OMAFRA.
The topic: Pest Problem Update
The talk: This presentation will provide highlights of a few
greenhouse pest problems, and experiences in managing such problems.
Recent registrations for greenhouse vegetables will also be presented.

11:20-11:50 — Dr. Barry Micallef, University of Guelph
The topic: Strategies for Extending the Greenhouse Vegetable Growing Season in Ontario
The talk: Dr. Micallef’s lab has obtained much evidence showing
that the poor response of greenhouse vegetables to supplemental lighting
is linked to altered patterns of nitrate uptake during specific periods
of the day under long photoperiods. A new time-of-day fertigation
strategy will be presented that shows promise for improving the response
of greenhouse vegetables to supplemental lighting, and some related
research on low light tolerance will be discussed.

LUNCHEON

1:30-2 — David Arkell, president and CEO of 360 Energy Inc.
The topic: Common Energy Saving Tips and Techniques
The talk: This presentation will cover common processes and
technical solutions that can be used by greenhouses to help reduce
energy consumption and lower energy costs. While most businesses
recognize that energy is an significant cost, it is typically seen as
either a fixed cost that cannot be helped, or a fixed cost that requires
a large capital investment for it to be reduced. In fact, there are
many ways that greenhouses can save money and energy through little to
no capital investment.

2-2:30 — Kurt Parbst, of Ludvig Svensson Inc.
The topic: Energy Screens in Vegetable Crops
The talk: The case for using screens and multiple screens for
energy savings and crop climate improvement (humidity control and solar
radiation reduction) in vegetable production houses in the Ontario
climate will be presented.

FLOWER PROGRAM
9-9:30 — Jerry Gorchels,
PanAmerican Seed and Kieft Pro Seed
The topic: Fillers for mixed containers from seed
The talk: What are some of the premium seed lines, and how can
they work for you? Jerry will talk about them and how they can help you
increase your bottom line.

10-10:30 — Kurt Parbst, Svensson
The topic: Retractable screens
The talk: The use of retractable screens for temperature control,
light diffusion, short day creation, and energy savings will be
discussed.  A sample investment payback calculation will be presented
for single and double screens.
 

10-10:45 — Coffee break


10:50-11:20 — Albert Grimm, Jeffery’s Greenhouses, St. Catharines, Ont.
The topic: Greenhouse Environment Manipulation
The talk: This presentation aims to help growers understand the
causes of certain physiological crop problems related to greenhouse
climate, along with practical tips on how to avoid them.

11:20-11:50 — Jim Nau, of Ball Horticultural
The topic: Perennials for the Bedding Plant Grower.
The talk: Jim will present production regiments on how to produce
perennials for spring sales. Areas to be covered include crop
scheduling and when plants will flower based on the production method
followed.

LUNCHEON

1:30-2 — Graeme Murphy, greenhouse floriculture IPM specialist with OMAFRA
The topic: The Pitfalls of Biocontrol
The talk: Information will be presented on the most common
problems that arise in biocontrol programs for ornamental crops and what
can be done to minimize and overcome them.

2-2:30 Panel discussion: Shelley Elgar of Sheridan Nurseries; Rob
vanStaalduinen of Great Lakes Floral; and Paul Bongers of Country Basket
Niagara garden centre.
The topic:
Marketing in the 21st century
The discussion: Bring your questions or suggestions! It’s not
about getting a bigger piece of the pie, but about working together to
create a bigger pie. Any ideas?


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