Young Plant Research Center
Our goal at the University of New Hampshire is to be: The leading industry-driven research program for nutrition, plant health, and genetics for the production, propagation, and shipping of young plant material. We are partnering with industry to form the UNH Young Plant Research Center. Read an article on our research program from Greenhouse Grower magazine, 2005. | |
Who are we? | |
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Support staff
Dr. Jinsheng Huang (nutrition and soil chemistry)
David Goudreault (greenhouse manager)
Kate Santos, Luke Hydock (technicians)
Amy Bestic, Amy Douglas, Andrea Quintana, Kate Santos (graduate students)
What are our Facilities?
We have glass greenhouses with computer-controlled temperature, HPS lighting, underbench heating, irrigation, and CO2 injection capability. Our greenhouses are being renovated for propagation and stock plant management.
Why this focus?
The most exciting new area in floriculture is driven by vegetatively-propagated genetics.
Innovation and change are what drives profitability in this industry.
Partnering with the Young Plant Research Center will help us develop new technologies and help you remain at the leading edge.
Funding Support
UNH is investing over $100,000 per year for three years in infrastructure and core support for the Center and its research team.
We are also writing grants to organizations such as American Floral Endowment and FIRST.
Industry relationships
Our goal is to remain objective and build positive relationships with industry.
- A Research Group was launched in August 2004, which has grown to 13 member companies that donate funds towards publicly-available information.
- We do contract R & D for several propagation-related companies.
- We also collaborate with a broad range of propagation companies, often on a non-financial basis.
What are benefits to becoming a Research Group partner?
Our partner companies
- support university research and education
- help provide us with ideas on research directions and priorities
- receive early reports on research results
- be acknowledged for your donation in industry publications
- combine your donation with support from other companies to have more impact.
Who are the other partners in the Research Group?
Founding members are leading independent greenhouses (i.e. not breeding/marketing programs) Center Greenhouse, D.S. Cole Growers, Kube-Pak, Lucas Greenhouse, Pleasant View Gardens, Welby Gardens from New Hampshire, along with industry supply companies (Blackmore, Ellegaard, Greencare, Quality Analytical Labs). Premier Horticulture, Sun Gro Horticulture, Four Star Greenhouse, and Glass Corner Greenhouse joined our group in 2005.
Contract Research
In addition to the publicly-available research supported by the Research Group, we do company-specific contract product research and development.
We can work closely with your company to help improve and test your products.
What topics are we researching?
- What are the best actions when cuttings arrive with nutrition problems?
- Why? Cuttings arrive with differing nutritional levels. Leaching occurs in propagation, and humid/low light conditions common during winter limit uptake. Clear corrective actions are needed to help deal with out-of-range problems.
- pH dynamics and micronutrient sources
- Why? pH and EC change rapidly in small containers, and many factors drive pH change, for example concrete flood floors or residual lime. Growers are using different chelated forms of nutrients that change the “traditional” pH relationships.
- The majority of micronutrients can sometimes provided by non-fertilizer contaminants resulting in out-of-balance levels. We will help understand and quantify the whole system needed to manage pH and micronutrients.
- Education materials in greenhouse crop nutrition and poinsettia production
- Why? Interactive internet tools provide a new way to train growers and deliver technical information for product success.
- Fungus gnat management for stock plants and liners
- Why? Fungus gnats thrive in propagation environments, and are also a problem for long-term stock plant management.
- Pretreatments to avoid shipping stress
- Why? Plants never evolved to be cut up, put in a box, and shipped thousands of miles! Disease problems and losses are common.
We thank our sponsoring companies:
For more information about the Young Plant Research Center contact Paul Fisher, Paul.Fisher@unh.edu, tel. 603 862 4525, fax 603 862 4757
