Brassica Crops Session: 1:30pm - 4:00pm
Our conference concludes with a mighty brassica session with experts Elisabeth Hodgdon and Christy Hoepting from Cornell and Gordon Johnson from the University of Delaware focusing on a variety of disease, heat stress and varietal topics for broccoli, cauliflower and cabbages – all pertinent to the retail market grower. Brussels sprout production will be covered by Jan van der Heide of Bejo seeds and grower input will also be included. If you grow brassica crops – don’t miss this!
1:30pm - "Control of Alternaria Head Rot in Broccoli" - Christy Hoepting, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program
2:00pm - "Heat Stress in Broccoli and Cauliflower, and Varietal Susceptibility" - Gordon Johnson, University of Delaware
2:30pm - "How to Produce Bodacious Brussels Sprouts, Featuring the Effects of Planting Date, Fertility, and Variety" - Jan van der Heide, Bejo Seeds, Geneva, NY
3:00pm - "Sprouting Broccoli and Miniature Cabbages for Specialty Markets" - Elisabeth Hodgdon, CCE Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
3:30pm - Updates from seed companies
3:45pm - Final questions and discussion
4:00pm - Adjourn
Elisabeth Hodgdon
Elisabeth grew up on a farm in Vermont, where her interest in growing vegetables began. She studied plant science and agricultural economics at McGill University and later went on to complete her Master's degree at the University of New Hampshire, where she studied cover cropping for weed suppression. While at UNH, she also assisted with vegetable variety trials and high tunnel research. Elisabeth returned to Vermont to earn her PhD at UVM where she researched organic management strategies for swede midge, an invasive pest of cole crops.
Gordon Johnson
Dr. Johnson is the Extension Vegetable and Fruit Specialist in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware stationed at the Carvel Research and Education Center near Georgetown, DE. He conducts applied research in vegetable, fruit, and specialty horticulture crops including variety trials, advanced breeding material evaluation, horticultural production methods, adaptation research, new crops, and new technologies. He is also responsible for extension programs for horticultural crops, targeted trainings and regulatory updates including produce food safety, production recommendations, on-farm research trials and demonstrations and research dissemination.
Jan van der Heide
Jan van der Heide is Northeast Market Manager for Bejo Seeds, Inc. Bejo is a family-owned breeder and producer of quality hybrid vegetable seeds for the professional grower. We plant a wide range of varieties in our demonstration gardens in Geneva, NY every year, and growers are welcome to visit to learn and exchange ideas.
Christy Hoepting
Christy is a vegetable specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Cornell Vegetable Program in Western New York, a position she has held since 2001. She conducts on-farm applied research projects and demonstrations, and educational programming in onions, cabbage, broccoli, and garlic. She has a B.Sc.(1997) degree in environmental toxicology and an M.Sc.(2001) in plant pathology and applied entomology from the University of Guelph. In 2018, she was the recipient of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Award for Outstanding accomplishments in Extension and Outreach.