Banner Cover

Speaker Program - Wednesday

2022 Highlights

The 2022 Canadian Greenhouse Conference will bring experts to you!

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

View the program in a printable, easy-to-read chart format.

 

Slide decks from the 2022 speaker program are now available.

2022 CGC Presentative Archives

 

 

Wednesday Morning Concurrent Sessions

9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

 

 sanecotec

 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

  This session sponsored by      sanecotec logo

Christopher Weisener
University of Windsor, ON 

Tracking Seasonal Nutrient Load in Greenhouse Storm Water Retention: Phase II

The Leamington Tributaries are unique in the Canadian Lake Erie watershed with respect to the concentration and spatial extent of Greenhouse operations which have more than doubled from 2011-2020. To determine whether greenhouse ponds pose a risk to nutrient management in these watersheds a focused study was implemented.

Identifying and monitoring nutrient (Nitrogen ,Phosphorous) retention within the ponds is critical to mitigating their impact on the surrounding watershed. Data collected from this study is being used to create a risk management approach that will determine the overall water quality from season to season. Outcomes relating to the second phase of the study which focuses on seasonal trends from 2020 t0 2022 will be discussed. 

Thomas Graham
University of Guelph, ON

 

CEA Water Werewolves: There are no silver bullets

Greenhouse and growth chamber water management is complex and there is no silver bullet that will address the myriad of water management challenges facing growers.  Exacerbating these challenges are the seemingly endless treatment technology options that growers need to sift through to find the right solution for their operation.  Dr. Graham will be addressing these issues and offering insight into some of the technologies available and how they may/may not work to meet the challenges Controlled Environment Agriculture water management.

 

Els Vanbeckevoort
SanEcoTec Ltd.

Digital Water Quality Management – Consistent water quality - the future is now

Based on several case studies and real world-data, continuous water quality monitoring and control software can improve water health, making water re-use easier while reducing chemical, water, scrap, time and energy waste, as well as protecting infrastructure and the environment. Using machine-learning, advanced KPI analytics, and know-how, digital water quality management platforms have the potential to reduce the risk of water operations, while improving the control, cost, safety, and quality of water, for those whose water systems are mission-critical.

*approximately 30-minute presentations

 

  

 A&L laboratories

 

9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

 

 This session sponsored by:      A&L logo

 

Cara McCreary
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs

Genevieve Marchand
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Harrow, ON

 ToBRFV Symposium Highlights

 

 

Oualid Ellouz
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

 

Effective Sanitization to Eliminate Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus

Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) transmission may occur by the handling of plants, leaf-to-leaf contact, plant wounds made with cutting tools, farm equipment and chewing insects. This results in fast and easily spread throughout the commercial greenhouse environment resulting in extensive yield losses. CGMMV infection may also affect subsequent crops due to the long-term persistence of the virus on contaminated crop residues, greenhouse hard surfaces and soil or soil-less greenhouse substrates. To help determine potential solutions, a research team led by Dr. Oualid Ellouz developed a management program that utilizes rigorous sanitization and tolerant cucumber varieties to decrease the impact of CGMMV in commercial greenhouse cucumber production. The results of this study has shown that a well-designed sanitization program of cleansers and disinfectants can completely eliminate

Zamir Punja
Simon Fraser University, BC

Powdery Mildew Management on Greenhouse Crops: examples from cucumber and cannabis

Powdery mildews are common and devastating pathogens on greenhouse crops. These obligate parasites invade living host tissues and take up nutrients, reducing photosynthates for host plant growth while also producing mycelium and spores on the leaf surface that are readily spread in the greenhouse environment. Various approaches, as well as environmental management to reduce relative humidity, will be discussed in relation to powdery mildew control on cucumber and cannabis plants.

 *approximately 30-minute presentations

   9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

 

 

 

OGVG logo               Flowers Canada logo

Presented by:

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers & Flowers Canada

Protected Agriculture

“Time to Get Started”

The Protected Agriculture Standard will require you to complete an assessment of your farm before the end of 2023. 

Hear the background for the standard and how audits will be done on-farm. 

To learn how this regulation will specifically affect your farm, book an afternoon time slot* to discuss the details with a professional.

There is no cost but pre-registration is required as attendees will receive advance materials and information

*Booking for afternoon appointments begins September 1st. Email: glenna@canadiangreenhouseconference.com

 

 

 

 

9:30 AM  - 11:00 AM  

Roberto Lopez
Michigan State University

Making $ense of Greenhouse Supplemental Lighting: Ornamentals

Considering adding supplemental lighting to your greenhouse, but are unsure of what spectrum and intensity to utilize? In this session, Dr. Roberto Lopez of Michigan State University will show us the plant response to supplemental light intensity and quality in northern greenhouses and the tools you can use to determine the potential return on investment.

 

Marc van Iersel
University of Georgia

Smart Lighting Strategies: Taking full advantage of the capability of LED fixtures

Getting the right lighting system, combined with a good lighting control system, is critical to maximize profitability. The control and dimming capability of most LED fixtures provides new, and often overlooked, opportunities for better lighting strategies. This presentation will focus on different lighting strategies that can be implemented now. Results from trials with the Candidus lighting control system in commercial greenhouses will be presented and Dr. van Iersel will also give a glimpse of the future and talk about what additional functionality will become available in the next few years. Learn about the benefits of smart lighting control approaches of LED fixtures and what the future will bring.

Sarah Jandricic
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Vineland

Lights, Insects, Action: Lighting effects on IPM

As supplemental lighting for greenhouse crops becomes more widespread, we still don’t fully understand the potential repercussions of lighting on IPM programs for insect pests. This talk looks at the effects of lighting types (HPS and various LED light mixtures) on natural enemies and mass trapping under different growing conditions. This talk builds on data shared in 2021.

 *Approximately 30-minute presentations

 sollum ad

9:30 AM - 11:30 AM* 

Generously sponsored by   sollum logo

Xiuming Hao
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Harrow, ON

Lighting Strategies to Reduce Light Pollution While Saving Energy

Artificial lighting has been quickly adopted in year-round greenhouse vegetable production during the last 10 years. While this has allowed the continuous supply of quality vegetables to consumers, it also led to some growing pains such as the shortage of power, and light pollution/abatement. Growers now also need to deal with high energy costs and reduce carbon footprint. Dr. Xiuming Hao will discuss newly discovered dynamic long photoperiod (up to 24h), low intensity lighting strategies that can maintain/improve crop productivity while cutting down peak power demand, reducing heating energy use, and facilitating light abatement curtain adoption. 

Jason Lanoue
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Harrow, ON

 

A Move in the Light Direction: LEDs for year-round pepper production

Supplemental light is needed during the winter months in high latitude regions to achieve the desired daily light integral (DLI) for greenhouse pepper production. If the desired DLI is not met, flower abortion occurs which drastically reduces yield. However, peppers tend to get short internodes when grown under supplemental lighting which causes fruit stacking, diminishing fruit quality and increases plant maintenance time. Here we will discuss the impact of broad and narrow wavelength light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on pepper production and how various spectra can be used to avoid problems seen under traditional lighting. We will also discuss the use of dynamic 24h lighting as a sustainable supplemental lighting source for pepper production which can reduce capital fixture cost and electricity costs.

Marcel Huibers
BASF Nunhems

 LEDs in High-wire Cucumber Production

Insights on LED use in high wire cucumber. Which are the differences with HPS lights. Full LED systems / hybrid systems. How can we talk to the plant; what can we learn off the plant behaviour. How should we treat the plant concerning pruning, de-leafing etc.

Quade Digweed
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Harrow, ON

Climate Under Light Abatement Curtains

Light abatement curtains affect the greenhouse climate, in both positive and negative ways. Four mini greenhouses at the Harrow Research and Development Center were used to grow tomato crops in the fall-winter of 2021 under LED lights with and without light abatement curtains. The trial provided insights on lighting and curtains effects on temperature, humidity, and canopy temperatures, as well as highlighting the challenges of light abatement research in small scale compartments.

 *approximately 30 minute presentations

 Wednesday 10 AM & 2 PM, Thursday 10 AM

 

This workshop sponsored by      dramm logo

Jason Deveau
Application Technology Specialist,
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs

& Friends!

Air-assisted Sprayer Technology
Worth it, or does it blow?

This workshop will run Wed. AM, Wed. PM and Thurs. AM.  There is no cost, but pre-registration is required as space is limited.

 

The aesthetic value of ornamental plants requires a near-zero tolerance for insect pests, which cause up to 10% of crop losses per season. Controlling them with insecticides is a difficult proposition. Ideally, each combination of canopy morphology, planting architecture, pest and chemistry would have a specific sprayer designed to optimize coverage and efficiency. This is economically unrealistic. Instead, many producers utilize technologies that rely on high water volumes and hydraulic pressures to “drench” targets indiscriminately, which raises humidity, dilutes the products and may not help improve coverage. Air-assisted spraying can be a viable alternative (and an improvement) over these approaches. We will demonstrate where/when this technology may be a good fit. 

 

Wednesday Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

crop defenders

 

 

 

2PM - 3:30 PM  

 

This session sponsored by      Crop Defenders logo

Sarah Jandricic
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Vineland

 

 New Thrips. New Concerns. New IPM programs?

Thrips species other than western flower thrips have been causing growers headaches recently – from onion thrips as a new pest of ornamentals, to interceptions of new species on imported plant material. This talk will cover the latest information on the threat of thrips, including species of concern, and actions you can take to mediate risks to your farm. 

Ishtiaq Rao
Crop Defenders

 

 Make Your Biocontrol More Dangerous for Your Pests

Biocontrol is not a standalone activity; it is a process that is part of an integral system of growing crops both profitably and sustainably. Biocontrol has a direct and indirect impact on the various cross functional job responsibilities in a greenhouse including growers, quality assurance, HR, finance, procurement, IT, sanitation, health and safety, and the branding/marketing and sales of greenhouse produce. This presentation will uncover certain things that, if are ignored, greenhouse businesses will pay a big price in terms of 4 things. These include pests returning to new crops within 3 weeks, hotspots continually popping up like aliens, pests spreading quickly to clean areas, and bios not seeming to work despite more being applied.

Cara McCreary & Sarah Jandricic
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Vineland

Ontario Crop Hub: Helping you choose effective, compatible pesticides

 *Approximately 30-minute presentations

 svensson

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

 

This session sponsored by      svensson logo

Rupp Carriveau
University of Windsor, ON

 

The Hydrogen Integrated Greenhouse Horticultural (HIGH) Energy Project

The energy demand of the Greenhouse Sector is increasing at a rapid rate with phased expansions and major migration to year-round growing.  Central electricity and gas grids are seeing new Greenhouse-slated infrastructure projects fully-subscribed even before completion.  Continued economic expansion of this nationally critical sector will require innovative distributed energy resource (DER) solutions.  The greatest concentration of greenhouses in North America is in Southern Ontario, which is also home to one of the densest regions of established Wind Energy in Canada.  A new joint venture driven by The University of Windsor, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Kruger Energy, and Enbridge Inc. is developing a Project that will illustrate the potential for commercial wind farms to supply electricity and hydrogen to the Greenhouse Sector. Exciting results from Sample Business Cases will be presented, highlighting the economic and environmental opportunities/challenges in bringing clean electricity and hydrogen to the Greenhouse Sector.

Quade Digweed
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Harrow, ON

Advances in Greenhouse Energy Storage

Rob Hanifin
Ludvig Svensson Inc.

Optimize Your Climate & Reduce Energy Consumption with Curtains & Fans

With a worldwide push to adopt renewable energy, one major barrier to adoption is time-of-use. Greenhouses have an opportunity both to take advantage of off-peak energy availability at night, and also leverage storage technologies within the greenhouse. This presentation will explore energy use strategies for greenhouses, new energy storage technologies, and examine energy storage methodologies under testing at Harrow.

Jessie Gillis
Vergent Power Solutions

No Power Grid, No Problem

As part of a new 97-acre build out, Hacienda North Farms installed a one-megawatt natural gas microturbine integrated with five hundred kilowatts of solar PV to power its greenhouse in Coatsworth, Ontario. This microgrid is an example of how future greenhouses can be installed in areas with limited or no grid power and provide resiliency to operations while reducing carbon emissions without needing other expensive technologies such as energy storage and exhaust aftertreatment.

approximately 30-minute presentations

grant thornton

2:00 PM - 3: 30 PM

This session sponsored by   Grant Thornton logo
Cybersecurity - You ARE at Risk
Sandy Boucher
Grant Thornton LLP

The Realities of Cybersecurity Risk – Beyond the Myths & Misconceptions

Our cybersecurity work with clients over the past few years has shown us that many still do not properly understand the threats their businesses face, or the real impact a cyber-attack would have. This presentation, based on findings from real breach investigations conducted over the past two years will provide practical insights into cybersecurity risk today, and the steps that many organizations are still not taking to protect themselves.  Our plain language approach is resonating with business leaders who have been left behind by over technical presentations and are wondering where and how to start.

The session will outline how to get started on the journey to improve your cybersecurity. Beyond the high-profile cases that have brought data security to the forefront, you will learn about the top cyber security risks facing Canadian businesses; steps you can take to prepare your people, protect your critical information and infrastructure, and improve your cyber security maturity, as well as common mistakes, and tips on how to make immediate changes that can significantly improve the security of your organization.

Ikjot Saini
University of Windsor, ON

Who did Cybersecurity Better: Automotive or Agriculture?

This presentation will take a close look at similarities between the cybersecurity requirements of Automotive and Ag. Sector. We will see why and how automotive sector picked up and moved faster than ag, even though automation and autonomous driving started earlier in the Agriculture sector.

Bryan Lachapelle
B4 Networks

Best Practices: Advice from your IT guy

 

 Wednesday 10 AM & 2 PM, Thursday 10 AM

 

This workshop sponsored by      dramm logo

Jason Deveau
Application Technology Specialist,
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs

& Friends!

Air-assisted Sprayer Technology
Worth it, or does it blow?

This workshop will run Wed. AM, Wed. PM and Thurs. AM.  There is no cost, but pre-registration is required as space is limited.

 

The aesthetic value of ornamental plants requires a near-zero tolerance for insect pests, which cause up to 10% of crop losses per season. Controlling them with insecticides is a difficult proposition. Ideally, each combination of canopy morphology, planting architecture, pest and chemistry would have a specific sprayer designed to optimize coverage and efficiency. This is economically unrealistic. Instead, many producers utilize technologies that rely on high water volumes and hydraulic pressures to “drench” targets indiscriminately, which raises humidity, dilutes the products and may not help improve coverage. Air-assisted spraying can be a viable alternative (and an improvement) over these approaches. We will demonstrate where/when this technology may be a good fit. 

 

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Dyoni Smith-Page
Signify

Ryan Wankel
Heliospectra

 

First Principles

Lighting crops for year-round production is becoming more normal in the greenhouse sector. Retrofits and new installations have their specific requirements. This workshop helps you identify problem areas and provide solutions resulting an optimal light plan. Basics questions about light fixtures to the more complex of topics of electricity for lighting will be discussed. 

Kevin Verhoef
Verhoef Electric Inc. Jordan, ON

Evann Seney
Honey Electric
Chatham, ON

Have You Got What It Takes? Power Points

 

Belal El-Hassan
Hendriks Greenhouses
Beamsville, ON

 

Choosing the Best Lighting for Your Crops

 

 

 

Archives

Looking for a presentation from our past conference?  Please note that not all speakers allow their work to be posted.

2022 Canadian Greenhouse Conference Presentations

2020 Canadian Greenhouse Conference Presentations

2019 Canadian Greenhouse Conference Presentations