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Description

This course is offered by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA). It has been an annual tradition since 1997. It includes 5 days of lectures and workshops organized by OMAFA’s greenhouse vegetable specialists, in collaboration with researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Harrow Research and Development Centre. It provides an overview of greenhouse vegetable production and integrated pest management (IPM) in Ontario for new entrants into the greenhouse sector, and up-to-date scientific information for more experienced members of Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable sector. Registrants typically include growers, scouts and staff from greenhouses and vertical farms, technical and sales representatives from industry, researchers and government.

Topics

Plant Physiology
Lighting in Greenhouses and Vertical Farms
Nutrition, Abiotic Stresses and Developmental Disorders
Water, Recirculation, Filtration and Disinfection
Carbon Dioxide Enrichment
Greenhouse Energy and Microclimates
Greenhouse Energy Modelling and Microclimate Mapping Workshops
Annual Greenhouse Energy Efficiency Challenge
Sanitation: Cleaning, Disinfecting and Sterilizing
IPM: Concepts, Implementation and Resistance Management
Insect and Mite Pests
Fungal, Oomycetal, Bacterial and Viral Pathogens
Insect and Disease Identification Workshops
New Guest Lecturers Every Year

Format

Three days of online lectures via Zoom and two days of in-person workshops.

Online Lectures: (Monday – Wednesday, 9:00 am-4:30 pm) Two lectures in the morning and two lectures in the afternoon with a one-hour break for lunch.

In-Person Workshops: IPM workshop on Thursday in Leamington, Ontario. Production workshop on Friday in Harrow, Ontario.

Date

Last week of November (to be determined for 2026).

Fee

$150 CAN ($132.74 + 13% HST)

$50 CAN ($44.25 + 13% HST) for members of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG)

Registration fee includes a copy of the Greenhouse Vegetable Course notebook, OMAFA Publication 836 Growing Greenhouse Vegetables in Ontario, OMAFA Publication 836A Integrated Pest Management for Greenhouse Fruits and Vegetables, OMAFA Publication 836B Guide to Production of Greenhouse Fruits and Vegetables, OMAFA’s Managing Nighttime Greenhouse Light Emissions Best Management Practices, and lunches and snacks during in-person workshops.