2016 International Plant Propagation Society Southern Region Annual Meeting Highlights

I just got back from the IPPS-Southern Region meeting and had some great tours of some surrounding farms near our meeting site of Virginia Beach.  We also had lecture time to share what we are innovatively doing and protocols for production.  Here are some of the observations that I thought were interesting from the field....

Pot-in-pot production with drip for larger materials.  

Boxwood blight is a real problem in the Northeast.  We needed to protect the nurseries we visited with strict protocols such as wearing foot booties so no soil would be moved to other places.

A picture of a large cell, liner trays that are used for stepping up material

A home-made contraption for unrolling cold-frame coverings mounted on a fork lift.

This nursery uses guys on sheet rock stilts to perform structural pruning tasks.

These guys are using a jig made from a flexible plastic board to space plants.  The piece has a spacer (metal bar) for distance between rows and lines on the board for where plants should be placed in-row.

An interesting application for a garage door as an entrance in a greenhouse setting. This allows for pushing a button and opening the door for entry.  The springs and motor are enclosed in a gear box to protect from the elements.

Shipping plants holding a board to keep plants from moving using a simple angle iron and vice-grips.

Mum trials on capillary mats for water savings and quality improvements.