Young Plant Research Center Overview
The Young Plant Research Center is a university/industry consortium that undertakes applied research.
The "young plant industry" is a global network that produces unrooted and rooted cuttings, seedling plugs, and tissue-cultured propagules. 2006 wholesale value was $363M in the 14 top-producing states of the U.S., including $95.5M in Florida.
We develop solutions for real industry problems related to the production, propagation, and shipping of young plant material.
The project includes collaboration by researchers and industry partners throughout the United States, and is led by Paul Fisher (University of Florida) and John Erwin (University of Minnesota).
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Dr. Paul Fisher (left) focuses on nutrition,water quality |
Example Projects
1) Leaching and Nutrients
- We measured leaching, water, and fertilizer use in our partner grower locations,
highlighting potential problems and providing feedback on their efficiency.
- We showed that once a cell volume of water has been leached from cells in
a liner tray, there is almost no preplant charge left.
- We are developing a model of how electrical conductivity changes in liner
production through leaching, uptake by plants, and applied fertilizers.
Measuring how much
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2) Media-pH Dynamics
- We tested unreacted "residual" lime levels in growing media from
our partner companies, and showed that media with more residual lime were more
resistant to a rapid drop in pH.
- We are developing a model that predicts pH change over time with a given lime
source and substrate. This has led to new soil and lime tests that help media
companies manage pH.
Different lime sources used in growing media. |
3) Flowering and Climate
- The University of Minnesota and other researchers have described temperature
and light effects on flowering for a wide range of species grown under controlled
research conditions.
- We monitored light and temperature levels in commercial greenhouses around
the U.S., and tested how those conditions affected flowering of annuals.
- During spring production, a degree day model was fairly accurate in predicting
flowering time. We are currently packaging degree day models for different crops
into a computer tool to help crop scheduling.
- Collaborators: Dr. Erik Runkle and Matt Blanchard at Michigan State University.
A data logger used to measure light and temperature. |
4) Fungus Gnat Management
- We evaluated registered insecticides and biological control agents for
fungus gnat control, in onsite trials with partners and also in a research setting.
- Safari, Distance, and Citation are examples of consistent products with good
residual control. Nematodes are also a promising low-toxicity option, but differences
in efficacy were found between suppliers and batches.
- Collaborators: Dr. Lance Osborne (Univ. of Florida), Dr. Raymond Cloyd (Kansas
State University), and Dr. Alan Eaton (University of New Hampshire)
Measuring fungus gnat emergence from growing media. |
5) Shipping Stress
- We found that 1-MCP reduces ethylene sensitivity in shipping of rooted
liners of lantana, an ethylene-sensitive plant, and may also be useful when
shipping pre-finished (flowering) liners.
- We also quantified heating and cooling inside standard and insulated cardboard
boxes, and measured temperatures when boxes were shipped via courier.
- Collaborators: Dr. Susan Han (Univ. of Massachusetts) and Dr. Terril Nell
(Univ. of Florida).
Exposing rooted cuttings to ethylene gas. |
