GREENHOUSE AND PROTECTED                              HOS 3222C & HOS 6932

   VEGETABLE PRODUCTION                                          Spring 2010  3 credits

 

 

                            Professor Daniel J. Cantliffe

 

                            Lecture: Tue., Thurs. Period 2, 8:30 - 9:20 am

 

                            Lab: Thurs. Periods 3 and 4, 9:35 - 11:30 am

 

                            Location: Room 2316 Fifield Hall (Tue.) &   

                            Lecture room and greenhouses at PSREU

                            (Thurs.)

 

 

 

Greenhouses are widely used to grow and protect vegetables around the world.  For certain vegetable crops, greenhouses present several advantages with respect to field production.  In greenhouses, crops lead to greater yields, higher quality, and the harvest season is extended per unit of cropped area.  High-value crops can be grown in soil-less media and irrigated with water and nutrients which can be recycled into the cropping system.  Pests and diseases can be managed using biological control strategies.  The high returns commanded by specialty crops grown in greenhouses can make this production system a viable alternative for growers in regions where production constraints such as unfavorable climate, reduced land due to urbanization, and restriction and reduction in the use of pesticides make field production more difficult. 

 

 

In Florida, the greenhouse industry is expanding; high value vegetables such as colored peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes are grown under protective structures.  Strawberries, melons and other high value vegetables are promising crops for this state.  Greenhouse technology for Florida and other subtropical regions is being developed and adapted from other production regions at the Protected Agriculture Project at the Horticulture Sciences Department of the University of Florida (please visit http://www.hos.ufl.edu/ProtectedAg/).

 

Greenhouse and Protected Vegetable Production, is a course intended for graduate and undergraduate students who want to learn about the many components of vegetable greenhouse production systems. 

 

Lectures by the professor will present an overview of the world and local greenhouse vegetable industry, the components of greenhouse structures and plant growing systems, irrigation and fertilization management using containers and soil-less media,  pests and diseases management, postharvest handling of vegetable crops, production of selected greenhouse-grown vegetable crops, and economics, marketing and global competition. 

 

The course will be composed of lectures, laboratory classes, and visits to commercial growers.  The professor and invited speakers will give lectures and provide updated reading materials.  Laboratory classes will provide students with the possibility of ‘hands-on’ experience.  Students will learn about greenhouse crop management practices working on a vegetable crop that they will grow in a commercial-type greenhouse throughout a complete crop cycle.  Students will learn how to manage and solve crop production problems applying knowledge acquired in the lectures and lab classes. 

 

Visits to commercial greenhouse operations will provide students with the opportunity to directly learn from the growers’ experiences and to complement the knowledge acquired through lectures and lab classes. 

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in contacting Dr. Daniel Cantliffe (http://www.hos.ufl.edu/djcweb/) at djcant@ufl.edu.

 


HOS 3222C & HOS 6932 - Greenhouse and Protected Vegetable Production

Spring 2010   Class Schedule and Syllabus

 

Instructor:    Dr. Dan Cantliffe 1251 Fifield  392-1928 x 203   djcant@ufl.edu  

Office hrs:  Mon. & Wed.    10:00 - 11:00 am (other times by appointment)

Graduate Teaching Assistants:  Libby Davies (libbydavies@ufl.edu); Allison Beyer (alb42@ufl.edu)

 

Credit hours:            3

 

Section Number:     1622 / 8981

 

Meeting Times:     Lectures – Tues. /Thurs. Period 2, 8:30am - 9:20am 2316 Fifield / PSREU (Plant Science Research and Education Unit) Protected Ag Headhouse / Greenhouse Lab - Thursday  Periods 3 and 4, 9:35am -11:30am PSREU Protected Ag Greenhouse

 

Grading System

Exam 1 -                      100 points

Final Exam -                150 points

Class Discussion -     100 points             Laboratory projects will be assigned to students.  Projects

Laboratory Project -    100 points             will be conducted at the Protected Ag Greenhouse at

Class trip -                    50 points             PSREU/Citra.                 

 

 

Attendance:  Class attendance is mandatory and will be used as one index of student participation and subsequent student evaluation. Special circumstances necessitation absences must be arranged in advance or, in the event of an emergency, explained upon return.

 

Academic Honesty:     As a result of completing the registration form at the University of Florida, every student has signed the following statement: I understand that the University of Florida expects its students to be honest in all their academic work.  I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University.

 

Classroom Decorum:   University policy is that beverages and food are not permitted in classrooms.  No smoking and no other uses of tobacco are permitted.  The university is a drug and alcohol free workplace and any student under influence will not be permitted participate in class activities. Cellular and other types of communications devices must be turned off during class (if it buzzes, beeps or chimes, turn it off).  Please keep reading of newspapers and other non-class materials reserved for an appropriate location such as the lounge area in this building.

 

UF Counseling Services:    Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals, which interfere with their academic performance.  These resources include:

 

1.   University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling;

 

2.   Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling;

 

3.   Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, 392-  1161, sexual counseling; and

 

4.   Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling.

 

Software Use:    All faculty, staff and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use.  Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator.  Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold our peers and ourselves to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. 

 

                                    

Lecture Schedule - HOS 3222C & HOS 6932

 

      Tuesday 2316 Fifield Hall                                                Thursday (PSREU as directed)

 DATE

 

TOPIC/INSTRUCTOR

 

 

 

   DATE

 

TOPIC/INSTRUCTOR

Jan. 5

 

Overview /

 

 

 

Jan. 7

 

Protected Ag. Overview

Jan. 12

 

Greenhouse Structures

 

 

 

Jan. 14

 

Greenhouse Structures /Bielinski Santos - Tunnels

Jan. 19

 

Greenhouse Structures

 

 

 

Jan. 21

 

Transplants for the Greenhouse

Jan. 26

 

Greenhouse Structures

 

 

 

Jan. 28

 

Greenhouse Structures

Feb. 2

 

Site Selection

 

 

 

Feb. 4

 

Irrigation/Fertilization

Feb. 9

 

Irrigation/Fertilization

 

 

 

Feb. 11

 

Irrigation/Fertilization

Feb. 16

 

Irrigation/Fertilization

 

 

 

Feb. 18

 

Biological Control/Banker Plants

Feb. 23

 

Augmented Biological Control / Insects and Diseases

 

 

 

Feb. 25

 

Biological Control /Lance Osborne

Mar. 2

 

EXAM 1

 

 

 

Mar. 4

 

Greenhouse Cucumber, Melon, and Squash Production

Mar. 9

 

Spring Break - No Classes

 

 

 

Mar. 11

 

Spring Break - No Classes

Mar. 16

 

Greenhouse Pepper Production

 

 

 

Mar. 18

 

Estimated Costs and Returns of Greenhouse Pepper Production in Florida

Mar. 23

 

Greenhouse Tomato Production

 

 

 

Mar. 25

 

Lettuce and Herb, and Misc. Crop Production

Mar. 30

 

Greenhouse Strawberry Production

 

 

 

Apr. 1

 

Organic Production /Danielle Treadwell

Apr. 6

 

Marketing / Global Competition

 

 

 

Apr. 8

 

Lab Trip (TBA)

Apr. 13

 

Marketing / Global Competition

 

 

 

Apr. 15

 

Growing Practices and Competitiveness of the European, Canadian and Mexican Greenhouse Industry to the US /

Apr. 20

 

Review

 

 

 

Apr. 28

 

Final Exam 5:30-7:30 PM (2316 Fifield Hall)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


HOS 3222C & HOS 6932 Field Trip (April 8, 2010)

 

 

 

Details forthcoming.