Top stories from Greenhouse Management’s website

CAST becomes California Summer Trials for 2021

CAST, formerly the California Spring Trials, is set to return in 2021, under the name ‘California Summer Trials’, according to a press release. Scheduled dates for the new summer trade event are Wednesday, June 23 through Sunday, June 27, 2021.

The 2020 event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Seeking to help stimulate attendance of brokers, growers and retailers, the change in date was a direct response to requests from the broker community. Many brokerage companies felt that a June event more aligned with their schedules to travel away from their territories to learn about the new plants and programs.

Adobe Stock

Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 has been eradicated from U.S. greenhouses

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its State partners have successfully completed actions to eliminate Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 from U.S. greenhouses. This announcement comes just two months after the pathogen was first detected in a Michigan greenhouse in April (NAPPO PAS OPR). In total, the response involved more than 650 facilities in 44 States.

R. solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 can cause a wilt disease in several important agricultural crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. This was the first confirmed case of this pathogen in U.S. greenhouses since 2004.

Photo courtesy of spoga+gafa

spoga+gafa canceled for 2020, rescheduled for 2021

Per a release, spoga+gafa 2020 has been canceled and rescheduled for May 30 - June 1, 2021 in Cologne. The statement read as follows:

“Despite high registration levels in the Spring of this year and extensive preparations, the current COVID situation has caused strong health, safety, economic and travel concerns among many of our registered exhibitors and visitors.

As the health and safety of our customers is of outmost importance to us, we reassessed the overall situation and made the decision to respond to the wishes of the majority of our exhibitors and visitors not to go forward with the 2020 event.”