East Texas Nursery and Greenhouse Conference

I would like to invite the ornamental producers in Texas to attend the 2009 East Texas Nursery and Greenhouse Conference. This year’s conference will be held on October 28^th at the Harvey Convention Center in Tyler. The conference is a partnership between Texas AgriLife Extension Service, the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, and Northeast Texas Nursery Growers Association. There will also be an IPM Workshop for Hispanic Workers. Registration prior to the meeting is $30 a person and $40 at the door. Five TDA CEU’s will be available. For more information visit http://agrilifevents.tamu.edu/ or call Scott Ludwig at 903-834-6191.

This year we are fortunate to have Dr. Glenn Fain (Auburn University) and Mr. Trent Teegerstrom (University of Arizona) as speakers at the conference.

Dr Fain will present “Alternative Substrates for the Nursery and Greenhouse Industry”. The purchase and shipping of Canadian Peat and perlite are costly products for the greenhouse and nursery business while the future availability of pinebark is of concern. Dr. Fain will show you the results of continued research using WholeTree and forest residuals as substrates in greenhouse and nursery production. Research has shown these components are viable and sustainable alternatives to current substrate components. His presentation will cover harvesting, processing and use of WholeTree and forest residuals as substrate components in greenhouse and nursery production.

Mr. Teegerstrom will present “An Introduction to the Nursery Cost and Profit Estimator”. The Nursery Cost and Profit Estimator (NCPE) is a spreadsheet tool developed jointly by the University of Arizona and the University of Hawaii to assist nursery producers in determining the cost of producing individual plants or groups of similar products. Knowing the individual cost of each product is critical information to make sound management decisions. In an industry where a typical business produces often over 100 different plant products, knowing which ones contribute to profit or loss can be challenging. The NCPE is set up to evaluate products from in-house propagation as well as purchased propagation material, and for final size plants ranging from small containers to trees in large boxes. The NCPE allows determining the true cost of a product but in addition the opportunity to simulate the impact of different cultural practices, regulatory demands, and the use of new products or different inputs. Information needed to start using the NCPE includes the land and bench area in operation, including production and non-production areas, federal tax schedule F or C, and production records for specific products or groups of products grown in the operation. The NCPE offers producers the opportunity to weigh the risks associated with different cultural practices, pricing, and regulatory compliance.

Additional topics to be addressed will include:

• IPM Update – Dr. Scott Ludwig (AgriLife Extension)
• Insect Pest Identification - Dr. Scott Ludwig (AgriLife Extension
• Plant Disease Identification and Management - Dr. Karl Steddom (AgriLife Extension)
• Improving Postharvest Performance of Bedding Plants with PGRs – Dr. Brent Pemberton (AgriLife Research)
• Training your Hispanic Workforce - Dr. Carlos Bográn (AgriLife Extension)

Don’t forget to bring your Hispanic works so they can attend Dr. Brográn’s day long “IPM Workshop of Hispanic Workers”.