On the horizon of horticulture

Going to industry conferences is always a welcomed break from the day-to-day in the office. Not only do I typically have the chance to get a change of scenery, it’s also an opportunity to learn from the experts about the latest technology and specialty crops.

This was the case at Cultivate’18, where I had the chance to sit in on a couple of sessions about lighting applications, and see many booths displaying the latest technology and advances in machinery, processes and inputs.

During one session, we heard from light scientist Leora Radetsky and plant pathologist/researcher Jaimin Patel of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, about nighttime interruption lighting for the control of plant diseases such as downy mildew on basil and powdery mildew on cucumber. When asked if it had potential applications for impatiens downy mildew, Radetsky said that, while they’re currently only working on food crops, they’re hoping to delve more into flowering crops soon and find answers to these types of questions. As it’s a university research center, it’s a matter of funding and resources, she said.

Legal greenhouse and indoor cannabis cultivation is also a part of the future of the industry. Whether it’s of interest to your operation or not, it’s a subject that has had increased visibility at different trade shows, including Cultivate’18.

In this month’s issue, you’ll find more information to help you better understand the cannabis industry and production in our 2018 Cannabis Cultivation Guide. Even if you’re not interested in producing cannabis, there are many great tips in this section that may help you improve your own floriculture greenhouse. First, we’re taking a look at Pure Greens, a cannabis greenhouse operation in Colorado that has incorporated manufacturing best practices into its business to streamline production. Click here for more.

Then, four cultivators share their data-tracking lessons and the steps they’ve taken to utilize that data to improve future production here. After that, we look at setting up the optimal lighting system in a cannabis grow, including type and number of lights, and electrical design, here. Finally, we wrap up with a feature on plant nutrition, including the two basic rules of plant growth, here.

Karen E. Varga, Editor
kvarga@gie.net
216-393-0290 | Twitter: @Karen_GIE