Biologicals Will Be a Key Focus at Northeast Greenhouse Conference

This year’s Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo, which takes place Nov. 3-4 in Boxborough, MA, will feature educational sessions on using greenhouse biological controls.

• “How to Handle and Release a Variety of Beneficial Arthropods for Greenhouse Biocontrol, including Mistakes to Avoid” presented by John Sanderson of Cornell University. Sanderson has been a professor in the Department of Entomology at Cornell University for more than 30 years. He has research/Extension responsibilities for arthropod pest management on greenhouse crops, with an emphasis on biological and integrated control. He has done research on every serious greenhouse pest and most of the predators, parasitoids, and pathogens used against them. Sanderson has given numerous talks at many of the major national and regional greenhouse grower conferences, and published articles in major trade magazines. His primary goal is to help growers accomplish cost-effective, sustainable management of the pests that plague greenhouse crops.
• “Upcoming Challenges in Biocontrol/ BCA Compatibility with Traditional Products” presented by Ron Valentin of Bioworks, Inc. Valentin was born in the heart of the greenhouse industry in the Netherlands. His family owned a greenhouse operation and his father started using biological control in 1971. At a very young age, Valentin developed an interest in bugs, and as a teenager he was managing and producing the biological control agents for the family greenhouse operation. After finishing his education in crop protection management, biochemistry, and vegetable production at State Secondary College of Agriculture in De Lier the Netherlands, he embarked on a career in biological control in 1986. After working in biological control technical support in the Netherlands and several other European countries, he came to Canada for his first visit in 1996. After traveling to Canada once every six to seven weeks in 1996 and 1997, he immigrated to Canada in December 1997. In March 2004, he became a Canadian Citizen. Over the years, Valentin has worked with many growers to set up sustainable and effective pest management programs with as a focus on using biological control agents as a first line of defense. He also has trained and managed technical support teams in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Valentin is currently Director of Technical Business, BCA at BioWorks, out of Victor, NY. He is very passionate about making an IPM and biological control approach work for every grower as well as reducing the use of pesticides for the better of the environment and the future.
• “Keep Yourself up to Date with What’s Happening in Pest Management (including new biocontrol products, techniques, and tools to help with your IPM program)” presented by Suzanne Wainwright-Evans of Buglady Consulting. Wainwright-Evans is a horticultural entomologist specializing in integrated pest management. She has been involved in the green industry for more than 25 years with a primary focus on biological control and using pesticides properly. Wainwright-Evans is a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in both Entomology and Environmental Horticulture. She is the owner of Buglady Consulting, now in business for more than 20 years providing expert horticultural entomological consulting and seminars to commercial growers. All client recommendations are made to promote the health of plants while being ecologically minded. The full use of natural and reduced risk pesticides, organic, and cultural control practices and methods are used while focusing on biological control.

The biennial Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo is co-sponsored by New England Floriculture, Inc., a group of grower representatives from the Northeast, augmented by University and Cooperative Extension staff in each state who specialize in greenhouse crops and management.

Attendee registration for the conference is open here.