From the Field: Fresh Growth, Fresh Insights

Spring is officially here—finally! After a long winter, there’s nothing quite like the promise of fresh growth, longer days, and, of course, spring flowers in the landscape and garden centers. At AFE, it also marks the start of a new season of travel, grower visits, and industry events, which I love because it brings me back to my roots. (Another thing I love – plant puns!)

Before joining AFE, I spent years in university extension, helping translate research and scientific information into practical resources. In many ways, I still do the same thing at AFE —just on a broader, national scale. With our funded research, monthly Grow Pro Webinar series, Sustainabloom, and more, I often think of AFE as Cooperative Extension for the floriculture industry. But unlike Extension programs, AFE is a nonprofit funded by the industry, for the industry. That means we rely on your support to continue funding impactful, forward-looking research and resources. I’m excited to share that we’re inviting people to contribute to our annual fundraising campaign, R.I.S.E. to Support, a little early this year! If you’ve benefited from AFE research or resources, consider getting your contribution in early to be recognized as a campaign sponsor in our official release.

As research costs continue to increase, while federal funding programs are cut or suspended, your support is more crucial than ever. I recently read an article from Cornell University about the critical need for investment in agricultural research, and the same is true for floriculture. (If you’re a university or institutional researcher, please take our brief survey to share how these cuts may be affecting your program. Your input helps us advocate for and support your work.)

Safety first at Costa Farms shipping and distribution warehouses!

Over the past couple of months, I had the opportunity to attend several important industry events and tour a number of different operations. You can read more about that here. One event I didn’t attend this year, but heard was fantastic, was the BioSolutions Conference. Researcher Dr. Christian Nansen from UC Davis was there to present some of his research on plasma activated water (PAW), which AFE is funding in partnership with CalFlowers. His research is showing promising results in boosting seed germination, strengthening seedling vigor, and enhancing crop resistance to arthropod pests. You can read more about his presentation here, and we’re thrilled to have him back as our featured speaker for our July Grow Pro Webinar. Be sure to register!

It was so great to hear from retired AFE Research Director Dr. Terril Nell at AFE’s Industry Summit in Miami!

March also brought us AFE’s Industry Summit—a special opportunity for industry leaders to come together in Miami and discuss the most pressing challenges facing floriculture today. These conversations will help guide AFE’s research priorities for the coming years. If you weren’t able to attend, we still want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to complete our Industry Challenges Survey. It only takes a few minutes and gives us valuable insight into where support is most needed and how AFE can prioritize areas for research.

In the last issue of Growing Further, we shared an article titled Bringing Floral Fragrance to New Heights, featuring the AFE-funded research of Dr. Thomas Colquhoun at the University of Florida. Garden Center Magazine recently wrote an article about this research, with interviews from Dr. Colquhoun as well as AFE Executive Director Debi Chedester. You can check that out here – it’s a great read.

Another exciting new development: I’ve been catching up each month with Brian Sparks from Greenhouse Grower Magazine to share the latest grower-focused news from AFE! These quick video updates have been featured in their emails, but in case you missed them, you can watch January’s here and February’s here. Keep an eye out for our next conversation, which will come out after CAST!

Before I sign off, here’s a quick resource round-up:

Dip those Thrips! (from the February issue of GrowerTalks, see more dipping resources on our Thrips and Botrytis Research Library)
Are your doors big enough for the Robots? (For more on automation, click here to watch our recent Grow Pro Special Session on AI for SOPs and our February Grow Pro on Automation ROI).
BioWorks BCA Optimum Temperatures Chart (For more on Biocontrol best practices, check out our March Grow Pro with Suzanne Wainwright-Evans)

Wishing you a joyful and profitable spring full of fresh growth and good conversations. As always, feel free to reach out—I love hearing from you and we’re here to help!

Keep growing,