CropTalk

Do you enjoy air turbulence while riding on an airplane?

Your cannabis plants don't appreciate air turbulence either.

What turbulence are we talking about here?!

The turbulence created from oscillating fans in a controlled environment cannabis crop.

It affects the crop microclimate and the photosynthetic activity of the plant much more than many understand.

But...what's an alternative?!

Laminar airflow.

Stewart Maxwell, Crop Consultant at Xylem Horticulture, joined the #LeadersTalkCrops series of CropTalk podcast, to give us the skinny on how and why you should employ laminar airflow in your cannabis growing environment.

Looking to hire a Cannabis grower for your cultivation operation?

Corey Lord, says that contrary to popular belief, hiring a "legacy" cannabis grower - one that doesn't have a degree in horticulture - might actually work to your advantage.

Corey had to get going when the going got tough.

He attributes a lot of his accomplishments to being of the "learn-it-all" mindset.

In this episode of #LeadersTalkCrops, Corey details why hiring for attitude instead of aptitude could really pay off.

Until next time, #startcleanstayclean

The cannabis industry can't stop talking about tissue culture.

But wait..what the heck is tissue culture?!

Is it the same as micropropagation?!

🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♀️ is a typical response.

That's why it was important to have Conor Stephen, a Masters Student at Cornell University, onto CropTalk to give us the perspective we need to better understand what this practice is all about.

Here's a sneak peek.

"...all micropropagation is tissue culture, but not all tissue culture is micropropagation."

Check out the conversation to learn a WHOLE bunch more (I know I did)! 👊

Until next time, #startcleanstayclean

On this episode of the CropTalk series #KyleTalksAgTech, Kyle Barnett speaks with Aaron Fields of Eden Greens Technology where he's growing with a unique vertical system in the greenhouse. We also discuss his journey in horticulture and the lessons he's learned along the way.

It seems there are two things that drive John Harrison.

Passion and determination.

John Harrison, the Founder of AGR1, was a guest on CropTalk under the series #MyFirstCrop. John was in the pre-production and capital raise stage of the AGR1 journey.

Since then, a lot has happened.

Including growing quality produce and kicking single-use plastics on the AGR1 farm.

John is passionate about his reasoning for why single-use plastics have got to go.

Take a listen and consider the possibilities.

Until next time, #startcleanstayclean

Growing up in the family floriculture business, Drew Guffey, learned a thing or two about stretching his father's dime.

Input costs are what ultimately drive the bottom line in most horticulture businesses.

The same applies to the cultivation of Cannabis (low THC hemp or medicinal/recreational).

Crop health and protection products are typically a large line item in the cultivation budget.

In this episode of the #LeadersTalkCrops series, Drew, the Alternative Segment Lead at Winfield United, shares how the use of adjuvants and wetting agents allow you to be more efficient and cost-effective when using certain crop protection and nutrition products.

What makes a cannabis cultivar commercially viable?

How can someone utilize and then preserve legendary and heirloom cannabis genetics that they've had for decades?

What can an individual do to control their own supply of personalized medicine that works specifically for them?

Those are just a few of the questions that Douglas Klier, Founder of Elite Phenos, answers, in detail during this #LeadersTalkCrops episode.

Before that though, the goosebumps kick in. Doug's provenance with cannabis use in his life and what he's done to help others like himself, is inspiring to say the least.

This one gets technical, but has more warm and fuzzies than the typical deep dive into micropropagation. 😉

Until next time, #startcleanstayclean

Each #CropDebate brings together two experts in a particular field of study to debate a controversial position. Each may or may not agree wholeheartedly with either position and most often will probably see value in both. But for the sake of entertainment in education, they're going to argue it out with facts!

Our first #CropDebate is expected to bee a real buzz!! This is a common debate in applied entomology and pollination ecology: " to honey bee or not to honey bee?"

Are #HoneyBees invasive to North America and ecologically detrimental, competing with native bees for resources and spreading diseases? Or are honey bees ecologically naturalized, performing unparalleled pollination services, and economically critical?

Honey bees are incredible study subjects for eusociality, just about everybody loves honey, and when we say, "#SaveTheBees," what bee do people imagine? And that waggle dance!? C'mon! They're amazing!

However, there are over 20,000 species of #bees in the world with over 4,000 species in North America. #Apis mellifera is just one of them. And there is a case to be made for their being a detriment to biodiversity.

On this #CropCareConvos episode, the first #CropDebate, by #CropTalkMedia, Dr. Judy Wu-Smart from University of Nebraska-Lincoln argues the position of "to honey bee," and Dr. Elaine Evans from the University of Minnesota argues the position of "not to honey bee."

🐝 #LetsTalksCrops

On the second of this two-part episode of the CropTalk series, #KyleTalksAgtech, Kyle Barnett speaks with Ricardo Hernandez (North Carolina State University) and John Jackson (The University of Arizona) about their new company SIGS (Sustainable Indoor Growing Systems). Learn how these two are helping growers create superior plants and maximize yields using vertical farming technology.

Milton Ganyard PhD. was employing integrated pest management practices before the term "integrated pest management" was coined.

As a career entomologist and farmer who's been at it for over fifty years, he's seen a whole mess of problems.

He's also come up with a slew of solutions.

In this conversation, Milton shares how he came to understand integrated pest management, how it has evolved in his time, and what it means to him today.

He doesn't stop there though. Milton gets into growing pumpkins in the southeast and what he's learned from inviting the public to join him on his farm for so many years.

History tends to repeat itself.

That is unless you learn from someone like Milton and prevent a problem before it starts.