Horticulture NZ Conference August 5th 2021

This year I honoured to be hosting a panel of growers, for a thirty-minute discussion on greenhouse hygiene practices, at the Horticulture NZ conference held at Mystery creek in August.

 This will be a great opportunity to share various international industry standards and adopted protocols already used in New Zealand by our most diligent growers.  I will be joined by several leading NZ greenhouse vegetable growers that have been at the forefront of hygiene measures.  It will offer the opportunity to learn from their experiences which may help us consider other hygiene measures that we may not have applied in practice.   This will be a collaborative session using the best researchers which is of course growers.

With new viruses threatening the tomato industry growers are now having to look for every possible way to prevent the spread and identify vectors/pathways for these virus entering greenhouses.   This is not solely for greenhouse tomato growers but a conversation for all protected cropping growers.

I have added discussion points below.  Time is limited so if there is any specific points you would like discussed please e-mail me at stefan@grower2grower.co.nz

Staff and crop hygiene:

1. Equipment movement
2. Disinfection between plants
3. Greenhouse and or building entry and exit strategy
4. Clothing policy, jewellery policy, phone policy
5. Lunch room policy
6. Glove protocols
7. Keeping staff separate per compartment

Crop Rotation:

1. Prevent cross contamination
2. Remove all crop, crop residues and loose materials
3. Disinfection

Irrigation Systems:

1. Clean internally and external
2. Disinfection

Business and Premises:

1. Crates and Pallets
2. Supplier and visitor protocols

If you have not registered for the confernece click the link bleow.  TomatoesNZ members are eligible to send 2 delegates per levy-paying member.  Tomatoes NZ will reimburse conference registration and Thursday night’s dinner, plus up to $500 + GST towards travel and accommodation.  To take up this offer we are asking growers to let Tomatoes NZ know as it’s first-in-first served for a maximum of 15 member entities.   

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