Northeast Greenhouse Conference will feature educational sessions on hydroponic leafy greens

​Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo will feature educational sessions on production of hydroponic leafy greens on November 4, 2021. These sessions will feature:

• Specialty Leafy Green Production: Managing the environment and Culture, Chris Currey, Iowa State University
• Tips for Producing High Quality, Non-flowering, and Flavorful Culinary Herbs by Manipulating Light, CO2 and Temperature, Roberto Lopez, Michigan State University
• Water and Nutrient Management for Leafy Greens, Neil Mattson, Cornell CCE
• Understanding Greenhouse Climate Control for High Yielding, Leafy Greens and Herbs, Neil Mattson, Cornell CCE
• Managing Diseases on Herbs, Mary Hausbeck, Michigan State University
• Practices to Have an Effective IPM and Biocontrol Program. Ron Valentin, Bioworks, Inc.

Meet the Presenters: 

• Christopher J. Currey is an Associate Professor of Horticulture in the Department of Horticulture at the Iowa State University, specializing in greenhouse and controlled-environment crop production. Dr. Currey received his B.S and M.S. degrees from the University of Minnesota. and then received his Ph.D. in from Purdue University. Chris' greenhouse crop and controlled-environment research is focused on providing research-based best-management practices to support commercial producers of ornamental and food crops to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability using and managing light, temperature, mineral nutrition, and plant growth regulators.
• Dr. Roberto Lopez is an associate professor and controlled environment/floriculture extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University. His research focuses on propagation and production of young and finish plants (including bedding plants, specialty cut flowers, leafy greens, and culinary herb crops) in the field, high tunnels, and greenhouses. His cut flower research aims to increase yield, stem length and caliper, quality and reduce production time by manipulating the growing environment.
• Neil Mattson is a Professor and greenhouse extension specialist in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. Neil joined Cornell in 2007 after completing his PhD from the University of California Davis and Master’s from the University of Minnesota. Neil is the director of Cornell’s Controlled Environment Agriculture group and his research is focused on optimizing crop performance and resource use efficiency of greenhouse flower and vegetable crops. Research interests include LED lighting and environmental control to reduce energy use and fertilization strategies to improve crop performance.
• Dr. Hausbeck’s research and extension programs reflect Michigan’s diversity and currently include asparagus, snap bean, broccoli, carrot, celery, cucurbits (cucumber, melon, pumpkin, squash), onion, pepper, tomato, greenhouse vegetable transplants, and ginseng. She has a long history of working in floriculture crops, with emphasis on poinsettia, geranium, cut flowers, bedding plants, and herbaceous potted plants. Although the Hausbeck laboratory is involved in a wide variety of research projects reflective of her broad commodity responsibility, her overall goal is to increase growers' profitability through novel and integrated disease management strategies.
• Ronald Valentin was born in the heart of the greenhouse industry in the Netherlands. His family owned a greenhouse operation and his father started using biological control in 1971. At a very young age Ronald developed an interest for the “bugs” and as a teenager he was managing and producing the biological control agents for the family greenhouse operation. After finishing his education in crop protection management, biochemistry, and vegetable production at State Secondary College of Agriculture in De Lier the Netherland, he embarked on a career in biological control in 1986. After traveling to Canada once every 6 to 7 weeks in 1996 and 1997 he immigrated to Canada in December 1997. Over the years Ronald has worked with many growers to set up sustainable and effective pest management programs with as a focus to use BCA’s as a first line of defense. He also has trained and managed technical support teams in Europe, Canada, and the USA. Ronald is currently Director of Technical Business, BCA at BioWorks, out of Victor, NY. Ronald is very passionate about making an IPM and biological control approach work for every grower as well as reducing the use of pesticides for the better of the environment and the future.

The biennial Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo is co-sponsored by New England Floriculture, Inc. - a group of grower representatives from the Northeast, augmented by University and Cooperative Extension staff in each state who specialize in greenhouse crops and management.

The full program is on the NEGC website. Register online at https://cvent.me/L43loN