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Floriculture Course
Floriculture – Greenhouse Production & Operations Management
Floriculture lessons
An 8-day course for firms wishing to upgrade their know-how or for new projects with less experienced staff. The course is based on the principle of: "DOs AND DON'Ts in Floriculture".
This course is designed to provide growers with effective working knowledge, principles and practices that are essential for successful greenhouse design, operation and management. It can be given either intensively or spread out if combined with hands-on supervision. The modular structure of the course allows for the selection of particular topics and appropriate adjustment of course length.
Floriculture course syllabus
Greenhouse location
A greenhouse site must be located with the realization that a perfect site does not exist and that choice of site will require compromise.
An unsatisfactory site will sooner or later (generally, sooner) increase the cost of operations and could lead to unnecessarily high losses and poor production.
Good site selection involves several sets of factors including: Climate, Water supply, Soil workability and drainage, Soil depth, Soil texture, Land cost.
Greenhouse Technology
Greenhouse structures
A greenhouse is best known as a structure for growing plants year round.
Why a Greenhouse? To grow crops out of season; To grow crops not adapted to the locality; To speed up the growth of crops; Increasing yield; Reaching exclusive markets.
Covering materials
The factors that need to be considered when selecting a glazing material (covering) including: Cost, Life Span, Strength, Weight, Light transmittance.
Greenhouse heating
The heating requirements of a greenhouse depend on:
The desired temperature for the plants grown;
The location and construction of the greenhouse;
The total outside exposed area of the structure.
Much of the daily heat requirement may come from the sun, but if you want your greenhouse to be more than a few degrees above the outside temperature at night, you will need to provide it with a heat source.
Ventilation & cooling systems
The purposes of ventilation are: To control high temperatures during the summer caused by the influx of solar radiation; To maintain relative humidity at acceptable levels during winter; To provide uniform air flow throughout the entire greenhouse; To maintain acceptable levels of gas concentration in the greenhouse.
During periods of high light intensity, air temperatures rise inside the greenhouse and cooling is required. Increasing ventilation rates serves to bring cooler, outside air into the greenhouse, but during the typical summer months, ventilation alone is often not enough to maintain optimum greenhouse air temperatures.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) of plants
Carbon dioxide is used by plants during photosythesis. When there is no CO2 supply and insufficient air refreshment in a greenhouse, the plants may consume more CO2 than comes into the greenhouse. This makes the CO2 drop to a level below the normal outside level of 340 ppm. CO2 depletion causes the plants to be unable to utilize the good light conditions, and when this situation lasts longer, growth and production will drop dramatically
CO2 enrichment increases photosynthesis and thus the CO2 - fixation and thus plant growth.
Horticultural Substrates for Cut flowers & Pot Plants
Functions of substrates: Serves as a reservoir for plant nutrients; Serves as a reservoir for water available for plants ; Must provide gas exchange between roots and the atmosphere outside the root substrate; Provides support for the plant .
Plant Propagation
Sexual propagation.
Propagation from seed and from Spores (ferns)
Plant propagation by asexual methods
Vegetative propagation: Cuttings from stems and roots; Division; Grafting and budding; Layering; Micro propagation
Watering for Cut Flowers & Pot Plants
Many types of irrigation systems may be used in greenhouse operations, and most greenhouse operations will utilize more than one irrigation system.
Types of irrigation systems: Hand watering; Overhead emitters; Drip tubes;
Capillary mat systems; Ebb-and-Flow systems; Flood floors; Floating beds
Fertilization
Plants, like people, need food to grow and thrive, but it's important to give them just the right food and just the right amount.
The major plant foods are nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. But in addition to large quantities of these three nutrients, all plants require a wide range of trace elements.
To assist plants to grow we must feed them with fertilizers. There are two main types of fertilizer, organic and inorganic fertilizers.
Management of Irrigation & Fertilization
The growth of crops built on sandy soils and/or with inert substrates requires a special and precise control of the fertigation, because the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of these growing media are very low and therefore they do not provide almost any nutrients.
The only source of nutrients is through the fertigation system.
Plant Protection
Plant protection is the management of insects, diseases and weeds that affect agronomic and horticultural crops, reducing their productivity or aesthetic value.
Floriculture - Commercial Grower Guide
Selecting – Preparing the Site.
Growing and Handling the Crop.
Harvest and Post
Ensuring maximum vase life:
Maximum vase life is essential to assure buyer and consumer confidence in fresh flowers. The factors discussed here all contribute to the harvest and post harvest life of flowers and need the attention of growers and marketers.
Hydroponics
The word hydroponics--from the Greek words "hydro" (water) and "ponos" (to work--literally means "working water.“
In hydroponics, the water does the work because it brings all the necessary nutrients directly to the plant.
In soil, the plant has to do the work by developing an extensive root system to obtain its
General Aspects of Pot Plants Culture
The aspects which are discussed including: Type of Crops; Greenhouse Structures; Covering Materials; Ground Cover; Environmental Factors; Benches; Hanging Baskets; Conveyors; Chemical Growth Regulation; Packaging & Transportation of Pot Plants;
Floriculture growers will be trained to be more professionals so they can have specific professional skills to succeed. This floriculture course will provide you the opportunity to learn how to grow high quality for increasing your income.
Click here to receive a detailed Syllabus
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