Greenhouse pest, disease management symposium set for Oct. 1 in Dallas
Source: HD.com
1 in Dallas Greenhouse and high tunnel growers looking for the latest tools to manage pests and diseases can hear directly from experts at a symposium hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife set for Oct. The Integrated Pest and Pathogen Management Symposium for Controlled Environment Agriculture will run from 8 a.m.
at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas, 17360 Coit Road. © Sam Craft and Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife Plant varieties and disease management Krishna Bhattarai, Ph.D., AgriLife Research controlled environment plant breeder and assistant professor in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, Dallas, will outline host resistance strategies being developed to combat powdery mildew in lettuce and strawberries, as well as thrips-vectored viruses such as tomato spotted wilt virus in tomatoes.
Source: Texas A&M Agrilife Publication date: Tue 1 Sep 2026 Related Articles → See More Greenhouse pest, disease management symposium set for Oct. study links tomato compound phytoene to liver health Australian study shows that tomatoes get flavor boost from green bin compost Australian greenhouse trials put new genetics and technologies to the test "The plant has never been the center of attention when designing a growth system" Growing for the future to save energy and soil Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture gets new $20 million facility Australia: Teacher’s five-year campaign opens $1.7m greenhouse to inspire students Optimising greenhouse conditions for off-season watermelon production Related Articles Greenhouse pest, disease management symposium set for Oct.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
