KILDALTON COLLEGE HORTICULTURE OPEN DAY
| L-R Dermot Callaghan, Head of Horticulture Development Department, Dr. Tom Kelly, Director of Knowledge Transfer, Teagasc, Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry, and Horticulture, Grainne McMahon, Assistant Principal Horticulture, Kildalton College. |
Andrew Doyle, TD, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture officially opened the annual Kildalton College Horticulture Open Day on 18 May. The event was held to showcase the vast range of facilities and learning available at the college. It was attended by over 80 potential students, industry stakeholders, and the general public. Minister Doyle used this opportunity to stress the importance of practical training for graduates entering the horticultural industry. He also highlighted the value of educational institutions such as
Kildalton with such a vast range of facilities including the sports turf training facility, protected crop production unit, nursery, fruit and vegetable production unit, orchards and the amenity areas including the vast grounds and landscape construction unit. He indicated that there are many opportunities for horticulture graduates in various areas of the industry, with many sectors undergoing recovery and growth.
In welcoming attendees, Paul Hennessy, Kildalton College principal emphasized the important connection between Waterford Institute of Technology and Kildalton which
facilitates students who have completed their Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Horticulture at Kildalton to progress to the Bachelor of Science in Horticulture in WIT. Grainne McMahon, an assistant principal in horticulture spoke about the various horticultural courses available at the college and detailed these progression routes.
Many colleagues from the horticulture development department were also present to speak about the ongoing collaborative projects with Kildalton College staff. Kildalton hosts several projects in collaboration with the horticulture development department. This represents a win-win for research and education. This collaboration is helping to provide valuable information for the horticultural industry, and through working in the college horticultural unit students are exposed to areas of development within the horticultural industry.
More information on College courses available at https://www.teagasc.ie/education/courses/horticulture ✽
2017 DAFM HORTICULTURE GRANT SCHEME UPDATEThe 2017 round of the Scheme of Investment Aid has approved 156 applicants for the development of the commercial horticulture sector, with a total of €6.4m in aid approved. Within this, €1.1m has been allocated to 29 applicants from the nursery stock and related amenity plant sectors. ✽ |
TEAGASC EVENTS CALENDAR 2017
The dates and locations of the following 2017 events may be subject to change.The latest updates will be available on www.teagasc.ie/horticulture ✽
JULY
AUGUST
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OCTOBER
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| Teagasc award-winning Garden of Hope in association with Pieta House exhibit – Gold Medal Winner & Best in Category Award for a Medium Garden |
TEAGASC AT BLOOM 2017Teagasc in association with Pieta House won a gold medal for best medium show garden at Bloom in the Phoenix Park for our garden entitled ‘Garden of Hope’. This was followed by winning the best in category award and to top it all off, it also won the people’s choice award (voted for by the public as the best of the 22 show gardens at Bloom this year). Congratulations to the award-winning designers and developers Louise Jones, Laura Cassin, Linda Murphy and Paddy Smith and all the horticulture team involved.
A detailed brochure describing the garden and our collaboration with Pieta house is available for download at https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/horticulture/bloom-in-the-park It includes a list of the plants used in the garden. |
HERBICIDE UPDATEWith key herbicides lost from the marketplace in the last few years, growers will be relieved to know that Flexidor is back on the market. It is the go-to product for weed control in containers for summer potting and has been unavailable since the end of 2016. Flexidor 500 (PCS registration number 04963) with the active ingredient Isoxaben, is four times stronger than the previous version so be sure to update your spray programme. As always, care should be taken regarding phytotoxicity. |
