Indoor Lighting for the Production of Floriculture Transplants

Erik Runkle, Michigan State UniversityAn exciting new way to produce floriculture crop seedlings and rooted cuttings (transplants) is indoors, where the environment can be controlled to produce uniform plants on demand. This growing technique enables control of the light spectrum using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to produce plants with desired attributes such as compact growth and early or late flowering, whichever is desired. We are currently in the second year of our project supported by the American Floral Endowment.Our team of students and research technicians is performing experiments in the Controlled Environment Lighting Laboratory (CELL). We are pleased to share our results to date through a five-part series of articles in GrowerTalks magazine. Below is a list of the article topics,…

AFE and e-Gro Partner on Webinars

We have partnered with e-Gro to present webinars focusing on new findings from AFE-funded research projects. The webinars are free. They aim to better communicate the results to growers and to share how to best implement the findings. They also allow for a greater number of managers and staff to hear this information first-hand.The new AFE/e-Gro webinars will be one hour in length with time for participants to ask specific questions of the researchers. They will complement the successful webinars that e-Gro is already conducting and provide greater resources for growers.The first webinar, “New Daily Light Integral Maps and Advances in Supplemental Lighting for Ornamentals” is slated for November 2nd from Noon – 1:00 p.m. Eastern.Presenters Jim Faust, Clemson University…

AFE-Funded Researchers Go Face to Face with Thrips

Sound scientific research has guided many of the flower crop production and postharvest handling practices used by growers, wholesalers, supermarkets and retail outlets today. AFE realizes that research you support must have direct value to each of you and to your companies.Assuring that research is relevant to flower production begins with making sure that researchers are familiar and see first-hand the conditions upon which their results will be used. During the first week of October, three accomplished thrips researchers accompanied me to Medellin, Colombia to visit flower farms. These researchers included JC Chong of Clemson University and Margaret Skinner and Bruce Parker of the University of Vermont.In late 2016, we also took AFE-funded Botrytis researchers to flower farms. The following…

Botrytis, Meet Calcium

By: JC Chong, Clemson UniversityWe pack our carts with the best crop of bedding plants ever, or our boxes with the best cut roses, only to receive a call from our customers rejecting the shipment because of gray mold. Botrytis meltdown is a huge problem during shipment because high humidity in sealed shipping carts or containers is just what Botrytis needs to cause an outbreak.With funding from AFE, Jim Faust and his graduate student Kathie Bennett (Clemson University) studied the potential of reducing Botrytis meltdown on petunia flowers with pre-shipment sprays of calcium chloride. Kathie sprayed four concentrations of calcium chloride (at 0, 400, 800 and 1,200 ppm) over two weeks before the expected shipping date. She infected the flowers…

All About Thrips IPM Programs

By: Rose BuitenhuisThe Vineland Research and Innovation Centre has a six-part series published in Greenhouse Canada magazine with practical information for thrips integrated pest management (IPM) programs.Written by Biocontrol Specialists Rose Buitenhuis, Michael Brownbridge and Graeme Murphy, the articles offer application tips and tricks, information on new technologies, and are supplemented by short videos demonstrating techniques or principles.Part 1, Designing Your Greenhouse IPM Program, introduces the systems approach to IPM and goes through the different elements of thrips IPM from start to finish, setting the stage for the rest of the series. The video explains the importance of choosing the right plant, the right environment and the right control agents for a complete IPM strategy. Part 2, IPM: Prevention and Early…

NFF’s 2017 Meeting and New Partnership with AFE

The National Floriculture Forum (NFF) has announced its 2017 annual meeting will be held in Philadelphia from March 17-19, 2017 during the Philadelphia International Flower Show.Participants of the meeting will attend the show and tour Longwood Gardens, and gather to discuss increasing the younger generation’s involvement in production and academic floriculture and horticulture.Members of the Young Professionals Council (YPC) will also attend and discuss their work on this topic.“I am very excited to be planning the 2017 event in Philadelphia. This is so important for the floriculture community, as it is one of the few events where academia and industry come together to discuss the pressing issues of floriculture,” said Krystal Snyder, 2017 NFF event coordinator and YPC member.“This year’s…

Preventing Downy Mildew on Coleus, Roses and Spotted Deadnettle

The floriculture industry faces complex issues that research funded by AFE helps address and solve.Mary Hausbeck Michigan State UniversityThe Endowment has funded research from Dr. Mary Hausbeck, Professor and Extension Specialist at Michigan State University, on the disease downy mildew.In an article published in Greenhouse Grower magazine, Dr. Hausbeck discusses how downy mildew diseases are potentially devastating to ornamental crops and can cause unsightly damage, as well. She provides details about the latest research and recommendations for preventing the disease.The article, which was featured in the August 2016 issue of Greenhouse Grower, can be viewed here. 

2016 Generations of Flowers Study

Download the 2016 Generations of Flowers Study Final Report. AFE, in partnership with the Society of American Florists (SAF), conducted the 2016 Generations of Flowers Study. This study is an update to the 2009 SAF study exploring consumer perceptions of flowers and plants and purchasing/gift-giving behavior among three key generations: Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers.Funding for the project was provided by the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF).Download the Executive Summary.Download the Final Report.Read the article in the May issue of Floral Management magazine for further analysis of the study results.The results show how different groups perceive, buy and use flowers and floral outlets. The research assessed patterns, motivations and barriers to purchasing and the practical and emotional value…

Prevent the Spread of Disease in Irrigation Water

Dr. Mary HausbeckAFE-funded research helps address a variety of issues that the floriculture industry faces.The Endowment is currently funding a research study from Dr. Mary Hausbeck, Professor and Extension Specialist at Michigan State University, entitled: Managing Pythium Species in Floriculture Irrigation Water.In an article published in Greenhouse Grower magazine, Dr. Hausbeck, along with fellow researcher Dr. Wei Zhang, discuss how water-mold pathogens can cause significant crop losses and reduce floriculture crop quality. They also provide ways to prevent the spread of diseases like Phytophthora and Pythium in irrigation water.The article, which was featured in the March 2016 issue of Greenhouse Grower, can be viewed here.

New Research Aims to Protect Gerbera From Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is the most common and damaging disease for gerbera crops. Growers often have to apply fungicides to control powdery mildew, which leads to significant increases in production costs.The lack of disease-resistant gerbera plants has been a major limiting factor for crop production.Severe powdery mildewAFE’s latest research report, Powdery Mildew Resistance in Transgenic Gerbera Plants, focused on increasing the plants’ resistance to powdery mildew through gene transference.Researchers Dr. Zhanao Deng, Zhonglin Mou and Natalia A. Peres of the University of Florida have concluded through this research that powdery mildew sensitivity can be overcome by transferring defense-related genes from non-crop plants to crop plants.Results have shown that genes from other plants can be transferred into gerbera crops to increase their…

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