Feb 2, 2019

HRI Announces 2019 Project Funding By Tim Hodson

The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the foundation of AmericanHort, has announced the portfolio of research projects to be funded in 2019. Projects range from innovations to crop production for both greenhouse and nursery segments, water management, emergent pest issue, and economic and marketing analyses. A total of $437,200 will be awarded this year.

“The projects funded this year truly represent all facets of the industry,” commented Steve Mostardi, HRI president. “From support of new technological innovations to understanding how consumers buy plants, there’s something in this set of awards that should benefit everyone in environmental horticulture. HRI’s mission is to advance the industry, and the trustees take that to heart when selecting projects to fund. The continuing financial support of individuals and companies from all branches of horticulture, is much appreciated.”

HRI’s mission is to direct, fund, promote, and communicate horticulture research. Supporting research that challenges current methods and bridges the divide between businesses and the consumer is exactly how HRI helps build prosperous businesses, advance the green industry, and fulfill its core vision.

Below is a sampling of some of the projects receiving funding.

• Off the Sales Floor & Into the Cart: Analyzing the Path to Plant Purchases —Bridget Behe, Michigan State University
• National Green Industry Survey — Charlie Hall, Texas A&M
• Seed Your Future — J. Dole, North Carolina State University and S. Yoder, Seed Your Future
• RFID & Beyond:  Using RFID, Drones and BLE to Improve Crop Inventory Management — R. Fernandez, Michigan State University
• Measurement of Plant Nitrogen Status in Floriculture and Nursery Production Using Smartphones — K. Nemali, Purdue University
• Landscape Plant Performance:  Water Use Assessments of New Cultivar Selections — L. Oki, University of California – Davis
• Preventing Clogging of Irrigation Emitters Caused by Algae in Greenhouse and Nursery — R. Raudales, University of Connecticut

To learn more details about these projects and others, please visit www.hriresearch.org/hris-funded-research-projects-2019.

Battling Mother Nature

Last week’s record breaking temperatures in the Midwest made for some incredibly challenging days for many growers.

While Mother Nature has eased her icy grip on the country, you never know when we could have another brutal cold snap.

To combat future problems, researchers in the horticulture department at Michigan State University have published some tips and techniques to help growers avoid crop delay, mitigate heat loss and prevent potential chilling injury or freezing damage to crops.

The report, authored by W. Garrett Owen and Roberto Lopez, can be found here.

— Tim