Greenhouse Management: How can shipping put plants at risk?

Paul Pilon: A lot of things can go wrong during shipping. Many transport vehicles often aren’t temperature controlled — there’s high humidity, lower light and the length of time a plant is in that environment varies. A plant could be there anywhere from one day to three or four days, possibly even longer. In some instances, plants are harvested a day or a two before they’re loaded onto a truck adding onto the potential time shipping issues can arise. During this time, plants are not in their natural growing environments, so they are being set up for shipping stresses like ethylene release or diseases such as Botrytis.

GM: How can using a PGR help?

PP: When they are used during production, it not only results in a more compact, aesthetically pleasing plant, but PGRs can also help improve shelf life. Plants that have been treated with PGRs typically have thicker stems and thicker cell walls, so they are going to be less prone to some of these shipping issues. I often see treated plants holding up for almost two weeks longer than they would otherwise. This is especially important in the spring when sales can be halted due to cold, wet weather. OHP has Pac O, Cycocel and B-Nine WSG in its portfolio.

GM: How can wetting agents help address some of these problems?

PP: Wetting agents are compounds that help the growing mix hold onto moisture better, so it lengthens the time between irrigation cycles. Some growers are adding wetting agents to their irrigation to help them maximize their watering practices. The wetting agent OHP offers is Suffusion. During production, wetting agents typically last six to eight weeks and their efficacy lessens over time. It’s helpful to add a wetting agent just prior to shipping to replenish the soil and bring it back up to peak efficacy. The plants will then be at optimal moisture during shipping so they won’t dry out and also helps irrigation management at retail locations. Wetting agents don’t have to be applied the day of shipping, I like to apply them a week or so before to allow them to settle in an reach their full potential prior to shipping.

GM: How can fungicides help?

PP: Growers should apply fungicides preventatively before shipping. It’s important for the fungicide to be there to protect plants before they are placed in adverse conditions during shipping. We have a fungicide called Astun, which is a very good product for growers to apply a day or two before shipping to lessen the occurrence of Botrytis during transit. Last April, I did a shipping trial with Astun on annuals and I evaluated disease development and plant quality prior to and again when unboxing them. Treated plants either had no Botrytis or significantly less vs. untreated plants. The other interesting observation was that on certain crops, there were less stress symptoms. With geraniums, they commonly turn yellow when left in a box during shipping, it was very apparent that plants treated with Astun had significantly less yellowing. We are looking into why this occurs and for other practical applications for growers to use Astun.

Greenhouse Management: Conley’s has a host of structures available. How do they different from one another?

GB: Conley’s offers one of the widest ranges of greenhouses on the market from simple cold frames, all the way up to 50 foot wide, free span gutter connected designs. Greenhouses are grouped into several categories: covering configurations, ventilation designs, crop type and density, as well as regional loading considerations.

GM: How can growers determine which structure is best for them?

GB: In most cases, growers already have an idea of which structure is required. Conley’s website and literature does a good job of illustrating the various styles of structures offered. And of course, Conley’s sales representatives are always available to discuss the various options best suited for the grower’s particular application. A few of the guidelines growers should consider include: What’s the purpose of the structure — is it a production house? Is it a propagation house, a head house, or even a retail sales area? Some environmental considerations are location. Structures installed in Massachusetts might look a lot different than a house installed in Arizona. What light transmissions are required? What environmental control systems will be required to maintain a proper environment? Material handling is an often overlooked factor that needs to be taken into consideration. How do crops or people flow through the space? Are grow benches advantageous? What types of doors are required and where?

GM: How long do structures from Conley’s generally last, and should growers perform maintenance on them?

GB: Conley’s employs Rollform Mills to produce our truss, arches, roof purlin and framing girt assemblies. Rollformed components offer more strength per pound of steel and also promotes a galvanized finish on both the exposed and inside of each component. Using Rollformed products, Conley’s Greenhouses will last longer especially in higher humidity regions. Conley’s structures are still standing after 50 years of service. In so much as maintenance is required on the moving parts of systems within a greenhouse virtually no maintenance is required, if designed properly, for the structure itself.

GM: Why should growers consider Conley’s for their structure needs?

GB: Several reasons. The first is 75 years of experience and structural designs can be applied to almost any growing project. Second, superior strength Rollformed technology offers stronger products that are designed to stand up to the harshest environmental regions and last longer than traditional greenhouse components. Third, reduced manufacturing labor associated with Rollform mills equals very competitive pricing. Finally, Conley’s offers complete installation labor, as well as comprehensive instructions for growers who prefer to build their own package.

Greenhouse Management: What makes WestRock experts on tags and labels?

Aaron McDonald: Our start as The John Henry Company brings over 100 years of horticulture expertise first as the John Henry Company, then Multi Packaging Solutions and now part of the WestRock family. Being part of a true leader in the global print and packaging industry has helped the horticulture group expand product offerings. Plant tags have always been a key part of our business, however, labeling is specialty of WestRock, and we continuously supply more and more labels to the industry. In North America, we have five tag facilities producing tags, and nine label facilities producing labels.

GM: What are the latest trends in tags and labels?

AM: Tags and labels have become a critical piece in the supply chain. Whether it be an affixed tag or a label, these products are now holding all information in one, including NIST, barcode, price point, plant care and branding so it can be used in all facets, from the greenhouse to the end consumer. Having this information all in one place makes it particularly easy for the consumer. Being able to quickly find the brands they love, along with plant information and price quickly are all key in their buying decisions.

GM: With WestRock’s expanded capabilities, what new products have you introduced for the horticulture industry?

AM: WestRock is known for its corrugate and we’ve been able to bring that into the horticulture space. In the market currently, most shippers are one-way wood shippers that are difficult and time consuming to build at the grower and difficult to dispose of at the retail level.

“Our new Half Pallet Merchandiser replaces the classic wooden or steel shipper, providing a recyclable option that also serves as a merchandiser at retail.” — Aaron McDonald

Our new Half Pallet Merchandiser (shown here) replaces the classic wooden or steel shipper, providing a recyclable option that also serves as a merchandiser at retail. It’s cost effective, providing superior retail display, recyclable and reduces labor costs. Being fully customizable print with up to 4 color graphics, it acts as a silent salesperson providing additional branding and information that can complement the plant tags and labels. These merchandisers can be easily moved throughout a retail space and even be placed in areas outside the garden center to encourage sales.

GM: How does WestRock’s new corrugate options stand out amongst others in the industry?

AM: We’ve spent the last two years making these options more recyclable. Currently, many merchandisers and shippers in the market are wood or steel, and they are treated as a single-use shipper and disposed of, which creates a lot of waste. WestRock’s merchandisers have less CO2 emissions and are recyclable which allows growers to be better stewards while using this product.

Greenhouse Management: What should growers know about retrofitting LEDs in their greenhouses?

Dr. Abhay Thosar: When growers are looking at retrofitting with LEDs, the most pressing concerns are always ambient heat, cost-effectiveness and plant response. Reduced heat holds serious implications for HVAC load, temperature and other environmental conditions that historically were designed to respond to warmer HPS lighting solutions.

While it’s not as much of an issue as it used to be, many growers looking to retrofit still have concerns about the costs of LED systems. Luckily, there are a variety of top-line benefits that outweigh those costs: improved plant morphology and production, higher yields, reduced cycle times and, control of light quality, on top of all of that, rebate programs that are growing in scope and popularity.

The third obvious one is that growers don’t know how their plants will respond to LEDs because they’ve been growing under HPS lights for so long. If they retrofit, they want to know their plants will respond positively across every performance metric that ultimately influences overall profitability and reinforces the case for the investment in LEDs. These come up in 11 out of 10 cases.

GM: Are these manageable concerns and how do you discuss them with growers?

AT: As a grower myself, the fear of the unknown, especially early in an LED retrofit, is always the biggest concern. There’s a certain level of comfortability in growing produce under the same conditions using the same lights for years or even decades. So, it just takes some time to build up a grower’s confidence in using LED technology. Our horticulture services team serves as that source of trust and expertise for our partners. Every member of our team has a background in horticulture and has grown crops under both HPS and LEDs, so we’re able to connect the latest and greatest in photobiology research with the practical know-how that comes when you’ve been growing for as long as we have. When working with our LED technology, the Horticulture Services team works closely with the to provide the much-needed crop technical support and ensure that we cross the success line together with the grower.

GM: What are ways growers can be successful moving forward with LEDs and get over that fear of the unknown?

AT: You shouldn’t feel like you’re all alone because you’re not. There are plenty of other growers and operations that have been through what you’re going through in some way, shape or form. Every operation is unique, but there are useful workarounds, like visiting a fellow grower in your region to pick their brain or exploring LED trials. Ultimately, you still have to find proof of concept in your own greenhouse, under your own environmental conditions, using your lights, but there are resources and people that can lend their perspective and insight because they’ve been where you are. That’s the core of what we do at Fluence. Sure, we sell lights, but we’ll also show our partners how to maximize every other aspect of their facility and operation to better control their unique environments and deliver optimum results.