Canada: A new comprehensive guide to container nursery crop fertilization
In collaboration with nursery growers in the Niagara Region and throughout Ontario, Dr. Youbin Zheng (Vineland’s Environmental Horticulture Chair and University of Guelph Associate Professor), Mary Jane Clark (Vineland’s Senior Research Technician, Environmental Horticulture) and Erin Agro (Vineland’s Graduate Student, Horticultural Production Systems) are discovering the best fertilization practices for container nursery crop production.
“Sheridan Nurseries is pleased to support Dr. Zheng’s research on actual real-life production conditions at Ontario nurseries. The results help us to refine our fertilizer applications, thus reducing the environmental impact and costs,” says Bart Brusse, Container Manager for Sheridan Nurseries in Georgetown, Ontario.
The team has found that each nursery crop has its own preference for controlled-release fertilizer rate. When the rate is increased, some shrubs, such as Rose of Sharon and PeeGee Hydrangea, show a significant increase in growth, others including Spirea show moderately increased growth while some (Dwarf Winged Euonymus) do not respond to fertilizer rate. Additional results can be found in a new comprehensive guide located on Vineland’s website at: www.vinelandresearch.com
“I’m very happy to have been involved in this research these past two years,” says Chris Pieper, owner of Pieper Nurseries in Dorchester, Ontario. “A robust fertilization program means cost savings by using only minimal amount of fertilizers while getting maximum results. It also helps promote a better environment.”
“From this project, we learned that additional research, including more fertilizer types, plant species, growing substrate and different climate regions, is needed to help growers optimize their fertilization strategies and minimize environmental impacts from nutrient runoff,” says Dr. Zheng.
Vineland’s industry-focused research creates impactful results for the Canadian horticulture industry. For more information on this research program, please contact: Dr. Youbin Zheng at 905-562-0320 x765, youbin.zheng@vinelandresearch.com.
Funding for this project has been provided by Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP), Landscape Ontario, and Agrium Advanced Technologies.