At CEICKOR, the agriculture university of Queretaro, the graduation of the 3rd generation of students of Agro engineers was celebrated on May 23rd.
Mexican industry is growing
CEICKOR is an educational center of high tech tomato produce, horticulture plant nursery and grafting, educating engineers and technicians for the growing greenhouse industry in Mexico. Their education program is based on developing a whole experience of growing, from building a greenhouse all the way through deciding the horticulture to be grown, planning schedules and growing procedures as well as harvest. Giving students a complete insight on all of high tech greenhouse management.
"If we can laugh together, we can work together", the quote on the greenhouse says. The project is sponsored by Cieckor, Inverca Mexico, Nature Sweet, Fresh Mex, Arq. Eduardo Martinez, Ing. Manuel Robles, Agrojena, Plast Textil, Disa, Asesores en Invernaderos, Priva, Haifa, Fertilizantes de la Abundancia & Hermanos Cruz.
Flowers
This 3rd generation of engineers stand out from the horticulture focus of CEICKOR because they decided to grow flowers for their dissertation project. The Mexican flower produce is mainly done in open field on soil. So they wanted to innovate introducing a hydroponic grown version of one of Mexico's most popular products: Gladiola.
Gladiola has many problems being cultivated in soil, mostly by fusarium infection that inhibits growing of Gladiolas for more than one or two cycles on the same ground. This urges growers to look for new soil to grow on every year or so.
Growing hydroponically! Photos by Francisco Alberico, Distribuidora de Sustratos AgrÃcolas SA de CV
Growing gladiolas hydroponically
Their innovation trial was to introduce Gladiolas on a hydroponic system on soilless mediums so they could eradicate fusarium infection and promote continuous growing for years to come on the same ground.
The results were pleasing: the students harvested more vigorous plants in less time. They exceeded in quality of the stalk height, with 98% of harvested stalks/bulbs when normally it is about 60% with field grown, and practically eliminated fusarium. Even the bulbs after cutting were of excellent quality and were producing high quality bulbs for the next cycle.
For more information:
Ceickor
01 (441) 277 5050
infouniversidad@ceickor.com.mx
www.centrouniversitarioceickor.edu.mx