Nov 22, 2018

GLEXPO vegetable education to be the strongest yet

“At the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO, we get a chance to bring in people from the vegetable industry outside of Michigan and hear their experiences and how they’ve tackled challenges,” said Benjamin Werling, a planning committee member for vegetable education.

As the largest exhibitor show outside of the West Coast and a key educator in the vegetable growing industry, the EXPO has educational sessions ranging the gamut of Extension research including cutting-edge scientific studies – specialized sessions that will suit every grower’s needs. Plus, this year the EXPO will offer for free the medical questionnaire portion of testing needed for respirator use, used by workers who handle pesticides.

Werling’s team chose a diverse group of speakers, and he worked with carrot, asparagus, celery and onion representatives in the planning process.

This year’s asparagus session will focus on the research being done by the speakers as well as industry-funded work. Carrot presentations will detail the changes growers need to implement in light of the new regulatory threats to the herbicide Lorax. Jett Calhoun is researching controlling weeds without using Lorax, and he will present his findings at the EXPO.

For those concerned specifically about limiting disease losses, Mary Hausbeck’s session will be of particular interest. “I will talk about how to protect onions against stemphylium leaf blight, discuss the re-emergence of fusarium yellows on celery, our findings on the status of asparagus crown health, tips to keep greenhouse ornamentals healthy and the latest twist on cucumber downy mildew,” Hausbeck said.

Lori Hoagland of Purdue University Extension plans to share valuable information about biostimulants. If growers aren’t familiar with biostimulants, part of the talk will include background information on what they are. Hoagland will explain why growers should be using them and how biostimulants can help their plants.

Another lesser-known topic is nematodes. “Nematodes are in style; come and hear the wormy latest news,” said Marisol Quintanilla, an entomologist at Michigan State University. On Tuesday, Quintanilla and Emily Cole, a graduate student with whom Quintanilla has been doing research, will be presenting what they’ve found out through their research. They’ll discuss how to manage root lesion nematodes and potato early die disease complex. Plus, they’ll share their results on different nematodes and composts. Soil health will be a factor.

That’s not all. “On Wednesday, we planned a talk that focuses on a cover crop trial that seeks to determine the best cover crops in order to reduce nematode damage in celery and other crops,” Quintanilla said. “Nematodes are an important pest that are below the ground and their damage is often overlooked. In some crops, they can be among the most important causes of yield loss.” In other words, growers won’t want to miss out on learning about these pests.

This year’s educational program is set to be the strongest yet. “GLEXPO has the formula to bring together a vibrant trade show and an engaging educational program,” said Hausbeck.

Check out the full schedule at www.GLEXPO.com.

Registration opened Oct. 1 for this year’s GLEXPO. Register at https://glexpo.com/gl-expo-registration