Australian tomato and cucumber growers gain expert insight on innovative greenhouse growing methods during a networking and information-sharing event Saturday, March 2.
Hosted by Provenance Propagation on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, and supported by vegetable seed breeding company Rijk Zwaan Australia, the inaugural event, 'Glasshouse Gala,' attracted more than 60 people, most of whom were local greenhouse growers.
A highlight of the event was a grower Q&A panel led by Fresh at Heart grower, Harrison Bruinsma, on the topics of grafting and advanced plants, integrated pest management, seedling establishment, adjustments of irrigation with decreasing day length, and leaf pruning and layering plants.
"Growers on the Mid-North Coast have a strong presence in the current mini cucumber market, and grafted cucumbers are a growing sector on the Mid-North Coast," Phil said.
"This field day provided the opportunity for growers to get together and advance their current understanding of greenhouse production whilst hearing of the benefits of grafted cucumber and tomato seedlings, as well as advanced plants from Provenance Propagation," Phil said.
CEO of Provenance Propagation, Dr Jack Mooney, said the event was excellent exposure for the new company, and the feedback was that growers "learnt a lot".
"The event brought us together to celebrate growth, collaboration, and the future of cultivation," he said.
"Most of the growers are working in low tech, and they learned more about how the mid and high-tech growers manage the labor, the plants, and the irrigation side of things, so they got a lot of out that."
Provenance is Australia's newest high-tech plant nursery with state-of-the-art growing systems. The business supplies seedlings to the Australian glasshouse/greenhouse market, with a special focus on grafted, advanced, and multiple-headed seedlings.
Published by: Rijk Zwaan Burgemeester Crezéelaan 402678 ZG, De Lierwww.rijkzwaan.com
Publication date: Thu 7 Mar 2024
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