By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 x 281Source:
Dan Cantliffe djc@ifas.ufl.edu, 352-392-1928 ext. 203
ORLANDO—Scientists, growers, corporate representatives and other industry officials from 30 nations will attend the ISHS International Symposium on Protected Culture in a Mild-Winter Climate, March 23-27 in Kissimmee, Fla.
The International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS) and the Commission for Protected Cultivation and the Working Group for Protected Culture in Mild-Winter Climate are promoting the symposium, which will be held at the Orlando WorldGate Hotel in Kissimmee, Fla.
“The objective of the symposium is to gather and disseminate international expertise in the protected cultivation of crops, which includes greenhouse production of crops,” said Dan Cantliffe, a University of Florida professor who is organizing the symposium. “Presentations at the symposium will cover a wide range of topics on production problems such as global competition, fertilization, irrigation and pest management.”
Cantliffe, who is chairman of the horticultural sciences department at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), said protected cultivation of crops is expanding because plants can be grown in greenhouses and other structures without soil, thereby reducing the need for chemicals, water and other production inputs.
“Protected cultivation of horticultural crops also eliminates the need for methyl bromide, a widely used soil fumigant that will no longer be available in many countries after 2005,” he said. “The fumigant, which helps control nematodes and other soil-borne pests, is being phased out because it is alleged to damage the Earth’s protective ozone layer in the atmosphere.”
Cantliffe said the symposium will examine problems associated with soil-less crop production, including water restrictions, pesticide use, biological control of insects and diseases, product quality and marketing. Invited speakers and other speakers will present scientific papers or poster sessions, he said.
“There will be many opportunities for interaction during question-and-answer sessions, topical discussion periods and networking functions,” Cantliffe said. “Authors will be asked to submit full manuscripts for review and publication in a formal proceedings that will be published by ISHS after the conference.”
Richard Jones, dean for research at UF/IFAS and director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, will welcome those attending the symposium. Cantliffe and Professor Yuksel Tuzel from Ege University Faculty of Agriculture in Bornova, Turkey, will also address the opening session.
Symposium sponsors include UF/IFAS, Conviron Coordinated Environmental Systems Ltd., Winnipeg, Canada; Hazera Genetics Ltd., Israel; Signature Supply Inc., Lakeland, Fla.; and Verti-Gro, Summerfield, Fla.
For registration information, contact the UF/IFAS Office of Conferences and Institutes at 352-392-5930. The special hotel rate for the symposium is $99 per night, which includes a buffet breakfast for two. For reservations at the Orlando WorldGate Hotel, 301l Maingate Lane in Kissimmee, call 407-396-1400.
Complete information on the symposium is available online at http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ishs/.
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