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HORTICULTURE NEWS UCD HORTICULTURE: PLANTS FOR PEOPLE, FOR OUR PLANET From September 2021 a new entry route to horticulture will be introduced at University College Dublin. The title of this four-year level 8 degree programme, where all modules will be a QQI level 8 or higher will be simply Horticulture. Students will be afforded the opportunity to enter the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science and take a common first-year programme after which the students can then choose horticulture as their primary degree. The principal focus of this programme will be Horticulture: Plants for People, for Our Planet. It is recognised that our world is facing immense challenges such as climate change, mass migration from the countryside to megacities, food shortages, excess food consumption and waste, pollution and freshwater shortages. Within science, advanced technologies, innovation and creativity, solutions to these critical issues can be found. Through sustainable cultivation of plants, and an increase in plant-based diets, many of these challenges can be
overcome. Humans have co-evolved with green plants over millennia; plants provide the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat, our shelter and medicines and they bring living colour to our lives. Horticulture is the science, technology, art and business of cultivating plants to improve human life. Horticulturists, and Horticultural Scientists, create global solutions for safe, sustainable, nutritious food, and healthy, restorative and beautiful environments. The UCD Horticulture degree programme is grounded in the fundamental and applied sciences which provide a solid foundation for professional horticultural practice. Students are invited to join this journey and make their own personal contribution. Remember when we open our minds and let loose our imagination, our achievements can be limitless. All that’s needed is the right career. UCD Horticulture… Plants for People, for our Planet. ✽
COLM WARREN POLYHOUSES BUILD BEECHDALE EXPANSION Beechdale Garden Centre in Enniscorthy are expanding their retail covered area with Colm Warren Polyhouses. Deirdre Warren says, “We are busy at the moment putting the finishing touches to their new 1,296m2 retail canopy cover. Construction started in February and will be finished shortly.” Owner, Keith Rothwell originally approached the Trim-based firm in 2016, to supply and build 544m2 of covered retail space. As his customer base continued to grow Keith employed CWP to manufacture and build a new four bay multilinked steel structure complete with motorised ridge ventilation and side ventilation. “Customers are increasingly looking for unique retail environments that are comfortable to spend long periods of time in and will gravitate to places that make the shopping experience comfortable and relaxing,” says Deirdre. CWP are available to help you make the most of your garden centre environment. With over 45 years of experience in the horticultural and garden centre industry, they can guide you through the lifecycle of your project from concept, to design and manufacturing through to installation and handover. Colm Warren Polyhouses recently received a CE mark for canopies and other box section greenhouses. They have EN1090-1-2009+A1:2011 accreditation since 2018. Contact them on: (046) 954 6007 for a call back by Colm Warren, or for any other queries. ✽
IRRIGATION INNOVATION FROM IRRITEC The irrigation industry has radically evolved over the last few years as the need to conserve and use water efficiently continues to increase. More emphasis has been placed on using drip irrigation to irrigate lawns, instead of the usual pop-up sprinklers. Pop-up sprinklers can be very wasteful of water, due to wind blowing the water where it’s not needed. They also tend to irrigate over surrounding paths and patios. Until now, if you used a dripline buried under the lawn, the fine grass roots would block the drip outlets within a couple of years. To combat that, Rainbird have developed a dripline with a copper strip within the outlets, which ‘burns’ the root tip and stops the root from blocking the outlet. By irrigating from below, there is zero water wastage. Fertilizers can also be applied though the drip irrigation, which is a far safer method then currently used. The next innovation is the use of WiFi control systems. All irrigation systems need a control panel, to start/stop the irrigation zones. The newest models are accessed via a phone app, so you can monitor and make changes from anywhere. The system links to a local weather station and irrigates according to the local weather. Paul Kunckles, of Irritec says, “This has been the best new product in years. It’s great to see irrigation stopping during wet weather and watering more when it’s hot. An added benefit to my customers, is that I can access their irrigation control app from my smartphone also. So if they are unsure about anything, I can check it out.” For more information visit: www.irritec.ie or call: (01) 840 4033 / (01) 840 5318. ✽
Spring 2020 / www.horticultureconnected.ie / HORTICULTURECONNECTED
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