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Courses

Short Courses for Commercial Growers

Nursery Stock and Ornamental Crops

A range of short courses are offered to existing growers and their staff. If you wish to enquire about these courses or wish to be added to the mailing list for short course invites please contact David Kerr Tel: 028 37 515645 or mobile 07899 864343

SHORT COURSE NOTICEBOARD

Short Training Courses for the Nursery Stock and Ornamental Sector
Training for people in the nursery stock and ornamental sector is increasingly important as a means of assisting growers to meet market requirements, minimise production costs, thereby maintaining future business competitiveness and profitability.
Greenmount Campus offer short courses as required to meet the needs of the industry. These are often one-day or half-day workshops. These comprise a mix of business and enterprise management, practical skills and those designed to meet legislative requirements.
With a fast-changing consumer market for garden plants growers have to react increasingly quickly to new trends in the market.
New technologies are needed to improve efficiency in the very competitive trading market. To help growers update and improve their skills a programme of short courses is planned and delivered each year.
These short courses and events are organised in consultation with industry groups such as Growers NI to ensure topics are relevant.

Lovely Lilies

New varieties of cut flower lilies were recently demonstrated at Greenmount Campus and arranged by our Floristry Students. Enthusiastic expressions of “lovely”, “exciting autumnal colours” were heard from the students who are florists themselves.
Local growers and HND horticulture students also had the opportunity to learn to produce these lilies at the workshop held at Greenmount on 17 September 2003.
Contacts for further details
Floristry Course:
Caroline Mathers at 02894 426 677, email: caroline.mathers@dardni.gov.uk
Cut flower production:
David Davidson at 02894 426 678. email: david.davidson@dardni.gov.uk
students viewing their creations
Floristry students viewing their creation. Extreme right:Anne Marie Grant (Floristry Instructor). Second from right David Davidson, Horticulture Technologist.
growers viewing lillies
Growers and students viewing 9 lily varieties at Greenmount Campus

Legislative Courses

Safe Use and Handling of Pesticides (PA1)
This course will enable growers to gain relevant certificates of competence issued by the National Proficiency Test Council
Duration 1day
Course content
Legislation
  • ·Using pesticides
  • ·Understanding labels
  • ·Protective clothing
  • ·Wildlife and environment
  • ·Pesticide storage and disposal
  • ·Pesticide records
Operation of sprayers (PA2) Field Crop Sprayers
This course will enable growers to gain relevant certificates of competence issued by the National Proficiency Test Council
Duration 1day
Course content
  • ·Operating pressures and droplet size
  • ·Calculation of nozzle output and selection of appropriate nozzle
  • ·Calibration
  • ·Maintenance of equipment
Operation of sprayers (PA2) Air assisted sprayers (PA3) Air assisted orchard sprayers
This course will enable growers to gain relevant certificates of competence issued by the National Proficiency Test Council
Duration 1 day
Course content
  • ·Forced air output
  • ·Spray quality, spray volume, spray patterns
  • ·Reduced volume spraying
  • ·Calculation of atomiser output
  • ·Calibration
  • ·Methods of reducing drift
  • ·Maintenance of equipment
Operation of sprayers (PA6) Hand held applicators
This course will enable growers to gain relevant certificates of competence issued by the National Proficiency Test Council
Duration 1day
Course content
  • ·Nozzle components
  • ·Types of nozzles for different uses
  • ·Spray patterns
  • ·Calibration
  • ·Operation of granular applicators