Do you have grower staff who are irrigating and fertilizing greenhouse crops, but have not had formal training in horticulture? The University of Florida IFAS Extension can help them make better crop management decisions. For the third year, they will be offering online training courses in English and Spanish starting on June 19, 2017. This year will feature a brand new course, Costing and Profitability.
Each course runs for 4 weeks, and includes a personalized certificate of completion. Classes are completely online, and include streaming videos, readings, and assignments. They are available any time of the day, and new modules activated each week during the course. To register, visit http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/.
The schedule of online courses planned for 2017 include:
| Title | Dates | Level* | Fee |
| Greenhouse 101 (PDF download) | 06/19 – 07/14 | * | $US199 |
| Nutrient Management 1 (Intro) (PDF download) | 07/24 – 08/18 | ** | $US199 |
| Nutrient Management 2 (Advanced) | 08/28 – 09/22 | *** | $US199 |
| Weed Management | 09/25 – 10/20 | ** | $US199 |
| Costing and Profitability | 10/30 – 12/01 | *** | $US499 |
Level:
*Introductory: Practical experience but without formal horticultural science education
**Intermediate: Some experience and training, or entry university level
***Advanced: Experienced, well-trained grower, or upper university level
The first course offered, Greenhouse 101, serves as introduction to the series of online classes offered by the University of Florida. It teaches the underlying horticultural science of plant growth to students who haven’t had a formal training in horticulture. Topics covered are plant parts and functions, photosynthesis and growth, greenhouse technology, flowering, compactness and branching, irrigation, nutrition, and plant health.
For more information:
Paul Fisher, Ph.D., Rosanna Freyre, Ph.D., Brian Pearson, Ph.D., Chris Marble, Ph.D., University of Florida
Email: greenhousetraining@ifas.ufl.edu.