Monday, October 18, 2010

Potyvirus in Korean radish






This sample came in before the winter break from a grower who specializes in Asian vegetables. A bag full of Korean radishes (also known as tae baek)- white & green very large (~6 inches long and ~3 inches diameter) radishes. This sample presented with leaf curling and dark flecks in the root tissue. Never having encountered a Korean radish before, I had to research the seed catalogs online to see if the green shoulders were normal (they are). The sample was in the cooler for too long and the foliage was beginning to deteriorate, so no picture but symptoms were similar to those caused by viruses.

Possibilities: virus or abiotic (herbicide, nutrient deficiency).

Tests done: CMV (ImmunoStrip assay from Agdia), POTY (elisa assay from Agdia)

Results: (-)CMV, (+)Potyvirus

Friday, August 6, 2010

8/28 Food Production Workshop-Greenhouse, Hydroponics and Aquaponics

Introduction to small-scale and community greenhouse, hydroponics and aquaponic systems
Greenhouse designs suitable for Colorado
Passive solar season extension techniques
Water quality testing information
Fish selection, health and maintenance
Plants to grow in aquaponics
In addition, aquaponics system construction will be included so you can see how to build a personal-sized system.
You will leave the workshop with information, plans and resources for building scalable greenhouse, hydroponics & aquaponics systems.

*optional trip to The GrowHaus to see their aquaponics system*
Meals: Light snacks provided, lunch is on your own.

Cost:  $40 for the entire day; check or cash accepted on-site




Thursday, March 18, 2010

Still time to sign up: CNGA Insect, Disease and Soils Workshop

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Little Valley Wholesale Nursery, Brighton, Colo.
Each session costs $25 per person or $50 all day

9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Morning session: Diseases and Insects
A general course for identifying pest problems in the nursery and greenhouse and will be
followed by a pest identification lab. Course instructor is Brooke Edmunds, Ph.D. from CSU Adams County Extension

1 a.m. to 4 p.m. Afternoon session: Soils
Nurseryman and USDA/ARS Woody Plant Germplasm Committee Representative for the
Southwest, Michael Melendrez, will provide the basics on prepping soils, basic soil properties, and what your new hires need to be prepared for as the season begins. He will discuss plant nutrition and soil fertility providing information to the modern green thinker.


Register with the CNGA. Send attendee names to info@coloradonga.org or call 303-758-6672 or 888-758-6672

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

In case you missed it: Greenhouse Virus Presentation

This presentation was part of the Dec '09 Front Range Greenhouse IPM workshop: Viruses Affecting Production. I'm hoping to get a narrated version up but it won't be for a few weeks.
Enjoy and as always contact me if you need more information!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

New Diagnostic Reporting System

As of March 1st, the Adams County Plant Diagnostic Clinic is using a new method to communicate with our clients. We have always been anonymously reporting our plant sample results to the National Plant Diagnostic System and now the software has been revised. The upgrade is designed to communicate diagnostic information pertaining to your sample submissions back to you more efficiently. Preliminary and final diagnostic reports as well as billing invoices can now be sent directly to your email address. Ultimately the system is designed to deliver written diagnostic information into your hands within 24 hours of sample receipt and keep you informed the duration of the diagnostic procedure. Naturally with every new database, some bugs will need to be worked out before the system proves to function at its full potential. Hopefully this transition will flow smoothly with very few malfunctions or delays.

During receipt of the new diagnostic emails, we hope to receive input from our clients regarding the quality and efficiency of the diagnostic reports and billing invoices. We welcome feedback regarding the new email system during this transition period. And as always, if you prefer phone calls or paper mail over email just let us know!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Upcoming Greenhouse Grower webinar



Benchmarking: How Effectively Is Your
Team Performing?

Join us for a free webinar on March 23


Space is limited.
Reserve your webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/210704024

Paul Thomas
Charlie Hall
Get a better handle on your bottom line profitability from the University of Georgia's Paul Thomas and Texas A&M's Charlie Hall in the latest installment in the Greenhouse Grower webinar series.

One of the most difficult aspects of running a business is assessing the effectiveness of employees. There are many ways to do this, and each has social and economic consequences.

In this webinar, Employee And Management Assessment, Paul and Charlie will present several techniques to evaluate individual and team performance, set performance benchmarks based on your company's situation, and establish the economic parameters to allow you to make fact-based personnel and task-staffing decisions. The establishment of supervisory team performance and upper management performance benchmarks will also be discussed.

Even if you are a very small company, it is useful to know how well the boss is really doing.

This 4-part series, Using Benchmarking To Track Your Recovery Performance, is designed to help you make more informed managerial decisions in the aftermath of an economic downturn that literally turned markets upside down.


Title: Employee and Management Assessment

Date:
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Time:
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

It's not too late: CO Agriculture Big & Small Conference

The Colorado Agriculture Big & Small Conference is this week! Thursday and Friday with a special Small Acreage day on Saturday!

Don't miss my presentation on "Managing Diseases in Hoophouses & Greenhouses" Friday at 10am!

This is THE conference for sustainable agriculture in the state. View the full program here.

This year the conference is being held in Adams County, so if you want a tour of the Greenhouse and Nursery Plant Diagnostic Lab, I would be happy to show you!