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…

AFE Grant Helps Improve Spanish Language Access

 A new education grant from the American Floral Endowment helps improve Spanish language access to University of Florida online grower coursesGreenhouse Training Online courses, including Disease Management, offered by University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF) have received a boost with an education grant from the American Floral Endowment (AFE). The four-week courses in English and Spanish are designed for growers or technical managers in the US and other countries and have been completed by over 1,000 growers.The education grant from AFE will help cover the cost of translating course materials into Spanish. This commitment to diversity training is critical. Even though approximately 80% of agricultural workers in the U.S. are of Hispanic origin and are Spanish‐speaking, there is a lack…

Daily Light Integral Maps for the U.S.

Daily Light Integral (DLI) maps display the ambient light delivered daily during each month across the entire U.S. These maps were researched and developed by James Faust of Clemson University and Joanne Logan of The University of Tennessee. They are unique because DLI is a measurement of light that is particularly valuable for estimating plant growth. Other solar radiation maps created for photovoltaic purposes, i.e., installing solar panels, are not directly applicable to horticultural applications. According to Faust, the project leader, the DLI maps are valuable because they allow growers to better manage the light environment of their plants. “For example, one can estimate the number of days per year that supplemental lighting may be necessary to achieve the desired…

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…

AFE Bulletin October 2017: New Video Contest, Botrytis and Thrips Presentations, New Consumer Study, and More

New Floral Purchasing Study Reveals Data on Flower-Buying Consumers

AFE and SAF announce the release of the Floral Purchase Tracking Study.Formally called the Consumer Tracking Study, the last study of this kind was conducted in 2005, the last of an annual study that started in 1992.AFE and SAF partnered together to provide a study that is packed full of substantial data regarding the purchases of flower-buying consumers. The study reveals details such as types of flowers purchased, amount spent, for whom and what occasions, satisfaction levels, and more.Funded by the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF) and conducted by IPSOS, the study provides valuable information to florists that can greatly impact how they plan their marketing strategies, inventory purchases and structure their pricing. The information shared in this study has…

Research Projects, New Named Fund Among Highlights in 2017 March AFE Bulletin

New Research Projects Approved for 2017-2018

The Endowment is pleased to announce $325,000 in research funding for the 2017-2018 fiscal year on projects addressing important floriculture/horticulture issues.“The floriculture industry faces complex challenges that AFE-funded research helps address,” said Terril Nell, Ph.D., AFE Research Coordinator.“These projects will directly benefit the industry by providing useful information to help solve critical issues, which will escalate the productivity and profitability of businesses.”The funding will support four new projects and seven continuing projects. The goal of all AFE research is to provide knowledge that helps the industry grow stronger.PLANT BREEDING AND GENETIC ENGINEERINGMaking Better Plant Products by Understanding Dynamic Facets of Metabolism: Dr. Thomas A. Colquhoun, University of Florida, $33,000Objective: Key enzyme and protein groups are being classified in Lily as a means…