Brush Up on Your Greenhouse Lighting Knowledge With These Courses

By Michigan State University|May 7, 2021

Greenhouse growers interested in brushing up on their production knowledge can now sign up for the summer sessions of four self-paced courses in Michigan State University Extension’s Online College of Knowledge greenhouse series.

The courses offered are Abiotic Disorders of Greenhouse Crops; Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting; Biological Control for Greenhouse Growers; and Floriculture Root Zone Management. The series serves as an excellent resource for greenhouse growers new to the industry or those who want to learn more about other areas of greenhouse crop production or pest management.

These non-credit summer courses in the series are pre-recorded, and registrants have three months to complete the courses. Students in the course will take a pre-test and a final exam to gauge their learning on the topics.

Registration for the courses is now open. Here’s a closer look:

Abiotic Disorders of Greenhouse Crops course is intended for greenhouse and ornamental plant growers who are interested in learning what factors induce or contribute to the onset of abiotic disorders of greenhouse crops. Abiotic plant problems are those that are caused by non-living things, such as cultural or environmental conditions. The course will guide you through the diagnostic process to learn what abiotic factors can cause plant problems causing top growth symptoms (on either foliage, stem, or flower buds) or root symptoms.
Biological Control for Greenhouse Growers is intended for greenhouse growers and others interested in learning about the challenges and opportunities associated with a biological control pest management program. The content of the course covers introductory materials to more advanced concepts such as utilizing banker plants.
Floriculture Root Zone Management is for beginning-level floriculture growers. It covers the fundamental concepts about irrigation water, media, and their effects on plant nutrition. The course covers water sources, water quality, water treatment, irrigation methodology and substrate components. The final unit of the course covers the essential elements for plant nutrition, how to select a fertilizer and how to monitor nutrition of greenhouse crops.
The Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting Course is intended for greenhouse and ornamental plant growers and others interested in learning about the fundamental concepts about how plants respond to light quality, quantity, and duration. It provides introductory to moderately challenging content based on experiments performed at MSU. The units in the course cover photoperiod, photoperiodic lighting, light quality, quantity, and duration, and factors that should be considered when replacing or installing new lamps.