Greenhouse Training Online courses, including Disease Management, offered by University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF) have received a boost with an education grant from the American Floral Endowment (AFE). The four-week courses in English and Spanish are designed for growers or technical managers in the US and other countries, and have been completed by over 1,000 growers.
The education grant from AFE will help cover the cost of translating course materials into Spanish. This commitment to diversity training is critical. Even though approximately 80% of agricultural workers in the U.S. are of Hispanic origin and are Spanish?speaking, there is a lack of Spanish language resources.
Lack of trained staff is recognized by growers as the number one issue they face. Training is an investment by businesses in their employees who are already performing well, have proven their work ethic, and just need opportunities to advance their growing careers. The AFE grant will also help measure the return on this investment, where UF instructors will quantify the impacts of learning in terms of knowledge, behavior, and economic value. The next course offered on October 1 is Disease Management, taught by Dr. Carrie Harmon.
Disease Management
After completing this course you will be able to:
- Prevent diseases by learning how diseases develop and spread
- Learn how to differentiate between disease and other issues
- Understand basic organic and conventional management options for greenhouses and nursery situations
- Safely apply and handle fungicides and understand rules and regulations
The course runs from October 1 to 26, 2018. It costs $US 199 per participant and includes a personalized certificate of completion. Over 4 weeks, there are streaming video lessons, readings and assignments (about 2-3 hours total commitment per week), which can be accessed at any time of day.
An advanced level course that helps understand and manage pH management, convert fertilizer units and formulate a fertilizer from individual salts, and diagnose nutritional problems and take corrective actions. Deadline to register is September 10.
About AFE
The American Floral Endowment is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the floriculture and horticulture industry through funding research, educational grants and scholarships. Since 1961, more than $15 million has been funded in research and educational projects, and more than $2 million has been funded in scholarships and internships designed to attract and retain the future leaders of the industry. To learn more about AFE or make a tax-deductible contribution, visit www.endowment.org.
An advanced level course that helps interpret water quality tests for irrigation of greenhouse and nursery crops, select appropriate water treatment technologies, and design a water treatment and monitoring system.
Click here to register (http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/).
For more information, we have attached two flyers (English and Spanish) explaining the course.
You can also go to http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/, or contact us atgreenhousetraining@ifas.ufl.edu.
Source: The American Floral Endowment
