LOWER MAINLAND HORTICULTURAL CONFERENCE 2025

Water is a hot topic in B.C. as growers confront a new regulatory system around water use. A severedrought brought the new system and its limitations to the attention of many growers faster than manyanticipated. This presentation will discuss how the agricultural sector can be a leader in water management by engaging our communities across the province.

Effective agricultural water management ensures that soil moisture aligns with crop demand. How do soil characteristics, crop stages, and weather dynamics impact soil moisture availability for planning healthy, high-quality harvests?

The key to managing team performance is the Performance Triad: setting clear performance expectations, providing needed training and skill development, and providing motivational performance feedback. This presentation will share key leadership concepts and practical tools for applying them.

There is a bewildering variety of fresh market potato varieties available and under development. Annual variety trialing enables us to observe effects of growing conditions such as changing heat trends in the summer.

Hear about real-time tissue analysis and soil moisture sensors that help producers meet the growing needs of the crop during the growing season. What have we learnedso far about how this can work for the industry?

Dive into soil moisture, crop needs, and strategies for agricultural water management. Southern Irrigation will share practical insights into systems and sensors,strategic installation, how to interpret data to support precise irrigation decision-making, and more!

Blemish diseases such as scab, silver scurf and black dot have been issues in table potatoes for some time. Some are newer than others, but all require understanding of the biology and management. Hear more about management tools and advice helpful to growers from a teacher, researcher and extension agent for the potato sector.

The discussion will review fundamentals which comprise determining a crop’s irrigation requirements, then utilize this information to develop a custom irrigationsystem schedule. The presentation will include the use of tools available, such as the Agriculture Irrigation Scheduling Calculator.

Learn how to assess risk, plan proactively to minimize negative impacts, and seize opportunities for change. Hear about practical tools like the AgriShield Risk Assessment and Planning platform.

A fresh perspective on spray application in vegetables focused on improving minimum coverage and field capacity by mastery of first principles and focus on actionable strategies. Advanced technologies and strategies will also be introduced and discussed.

Hear an update on the performance of advanced selections and new cultivars from raspberry and strawberry breeding programs in B.C. and Washington.

Trials of important emergency registrations (Cimegra and Success) and Verimark for control of CRM on brassica crops (transplants and direct- seeded) have showninteresting, and hopefully promising, results. Hear where this multi-year research is moving for 2025.

Transitioning from field production to soilless production of raspberries involves a steep learning curve. What are the challenges and opportunities with substrate production?

A deep dive into the fundamentals of good spraying and spray coverage in ways that will make you re-think how you conduct your spray program. Optimization strategiesfor current technology, novel technologies, and practical strategies anyone can do to increase coverage.

Integration of methods to improve cost-effectiveness of pathogen and weed management. This includes mapping and variable rate in-field fumigation, anaerobicsoil disinfestation, cultivar resistance, timing of planting, planting hole steaming and weed control methods.

Find out what’s available in the world of vegetable varieties from our seed representatives.

The pathogen causing late blight in potatoes is an aggressive strain that continues to require stringent management in B.C.. Hear an overview

of global/Canadian outbreaks of late blight, pathogen survey work and what has been recently detected in B.C. and eastern provinces compared to historical findings. This work informs our understanding of fungicide resistance problems and management advice for late blight.

Sprayers were never designed for modern organic materials, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be sprayed effectively. This session will include strategies for spraying pheromones, living organisms such as nematodes, eggs, compost teas, and an overview of electrostatic technology.

What are the market prospects for B.C. raspberries in 2025?

Listen to the experiences in adopting technology directly from farmers.

Join Southern Irrigation in exploring practical approaches to drip line installation in blueberry fields, applicable to other commodities as well. This presentation will cover effective techniques for system setup, maintenance, and water delivery optimization.

DeVry Greenhouses

Explore real-world examples of how farmers in B.C. are using AI to solve everyday challenges, improve efficiency, and transform farm operations today.

A review of various soil moisture sensors and how to leverage the information to improve water management in blueberries.

Innovate B.C. and Farm Credit Canada invite you to a unique workshop designed to empower farmers in evaluating and adopting new technologies. Reflect on a century of agricultural innovations and lessons learned, then dive into actionable case studies and a structured approach to assessing new tools. Farm Credit Canada will wrap up with expert advice on preparing financially for future tech investments on the farm.

Thrips pose a significant challenge across a wide range of crops, especially in greenhouse environments, where management can be complicated by insecticide resistance and the introduction of new species. This presentation will explore the biology of thrips, with an emphasis on effective management tactics, including the latest insecticide options and the integration of biocontrol agents for sustainable pest control.

What are the key areas to review on your soil analysis report? How can you use soil analysis and leaf tissue analysis to determine the fertilizer needs of your berry crop in the following season?

An overview of the business management skills and strategies that owners and operators of Greenhouse Vegetable facilities may utilize in more effectively running their businesses and managing their staff.

Re-visit the heat dome and its impact on fruit loss in blueberry, blackberry and raspberry, and hear a refresher on heat mitigation strategies.

Key insights and research updates from Oregon’s hazelnut industry, focusing on orchard management, disease control, and sustainability. Learn practical strategies to enhance hazelnut production based on the latest findings and Oregon’s experience.

An update on research and findings regarding greenhouse pepper fusarium rot; mitigation practices and control methods.

Learn about actionable strategies to increase spraying success. We’ll cover optimal use of conventional sprayers though to some of the newest and most promising upcoming technologies and give you decision support tools to help determine what’s right for your operation.

An overview of how AI may already be being used in greenhouse vegetable production (Controlled Environment Agriculture), or how it may be applied to the sector as it’s development advances in the future.

Perspectives from a B.C. packer. Hear about trends in the local and international market.

New strategies and technologies to prevent the spread of ToBRFV, focusing on advanced sanitation practices, resistant plant varieties, and monitoring systems to protect crops.

Continuous and direct measurements of blueberry water uptake over the season, to help determine more precise irrigation timings.

Learn key strategies for preventing and controlling diseases in orchards.

An update on current and upcoming new technology as it relates to substrate sensor equipment (conductivity, moisture, etc.) in application to Greenhouse Vegetable Production.

An overview of the Chilean hazelnut industry, focusing on orchard management and the technologies driving sustainable production.

Learn about the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council’s BerrySmart project and the results from field testing new technologies in commercial blueberry fields.

How sap field data can show emerging trends and issues impacting blueberry crop nutrition.

A review of alternative energy sources being applied to greenhouse vegetable production to reduce costs and increase efficiency of energy usage, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An overview of Milky Way Farm’s on-farm demonstration research project measuring the nitrogen release from cover crops and how it has changed their management strategies.

Phyto Diagnostics Company tests thousands of blueberry samples from the B.C. blueberry industry. What trends are they seeing in virus testing results from 2024?

How fast has blueberry scorch virus spread over the past three years in Abbotsford blueberry fields with good aphid management?

Hear an update on the performance of advanced blueberry selections from the B.C. breeding program.

Overview on how to use the B.C. Nutrient Management calculator, the importance of post-harvest nitrate sampling, and programs to support on-farm nutrient management planning.

A panel discussion on the best practices for growing and harvesting blueberries to ensure healthy plants and high yields while prioritizing fruit quality.

Overview of common brassica disease and organic control strategies.

Learn about the latest research on honeybee stocking density, placement, and new tools to inform pollination decisions on blueberry farms.

An overview of tractor mounted weeding equipment available for B.C producers. Producer panelists will share their experiences with the Thiessen Cultivator, Stout Smart Cultivator as well as more traditional tools.

Hear first-hand experience about how to select, install and maintain pollinator habitat on blueberry farms to support pollinator and beneficial insect populations.

Fruit quality is of increasing importance in global and local blueberry markets. What strategic advantages do growers in the Pacific Northwest have to optimizeyields and fruit quality while lowering unit costs.