Who we are
The Water Education Alliance for Horticulture is a partnership of universities and companies and is hosted by the University of Florida.
Industry partners in the Alliance include water treatment, media, fertilizer, and irrigation management companies. University partners include colleagues at the University of Florida, University of Guelph, and the University of Massachusetts who are undertaking research on water treatment and management.
The Alliance welcomes and encourages participation from other organizations and researchers. Please contact us for more information.
- Dr Paul Fisher
- Water treatment leadership
- Environmental Horticulture Department
- University of Florida
- 2549 Fifield Hall, PO Box 110670
- Gainesville FL 32611-0670
- Tel. 352 392 1831 x 352
- Fax. 352 392 3870
- http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/fisher.html
- Paul focuses on applied research for the commercial greenhouse industry. He views the Alliance as an opportunity to make water conservation and runoff management easier for growers.
- Dr Bruce MacKay
- Internet education leadership
- Horticultural Science Group
- Institute of Natural Resources
- Massey University
- Palmerston North
- New Zealand
- Fax. 06 350 5610
- Email
- Bruce provides leadership on internet delivery of water education, and develops innovative tools such as case studies that will make the Alliance website an effective and interactive resource.
- Dr Peter Konjoian
- Water management leadership
- Konjoian's Floriculture Education Services
- Tel. 978-683-0692
- Email
- Peter is the co-owner and operator of Konjoian's Floriculture, a grower, a researcher, and an educator. He uses his greenhouses not only for production, but also as a laboratory where he conducts research on floriculture products, including water treatment technologies. Peter has contributed to the development of presentations for this website, is co-organizing the upcoming workshop at the Ohio Floriculture Association meeting, and will help write the Alliance's articles on filtration and chlorine dioxide in GMPro.
- Emily Austen
- Alliance Assistant
- University of Florida
- Email
- With a background in biology and environmental policy, Emily is interested in helping growers take concrete actions to minimize the environmental impact of their operations, while maintaining profitability. She helps to develop material for the Alliance website and to prepare outreach materials.
- Dr Youbin Zheng
- Alliance Contributer
- Department of Environmental Biology
- University of Guelph
- Guelph, Ontario
- Canada
- Tel. 519- 824-4120 Ext. 52741
- Email
- An Adjunct Professor at the University of Guelph (Canada), Youbin conducts research on many aspects of greenhouse production, including water disinfestation technologies. Youbin will be an author on several of the Alliance's articles in GMPro magazine.
- Dr Phil Harmon
- Alliance Contributer
- Plant Pathology
- University of Florida
- Tel. (352) 392-3631 x 340
- Email
- Phil is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, where his research and extension programs focus on turfgrass and ornamental plant pathology. Phil provides expertise on the biology of pathogens found in greenhouse water, helping to author the Alliance's article on pathogen biology in GMPro.
- Dr Chuanxue Hong
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Email
- http://www.ppws.vt.edu/people/faculty/chhong2/
- Dr. Hong's research program focuses on biology and management of plant pathogens in irrigation water. He has lent his expertise to the Alliance's GMPro articles on chlorination, and his knowledge of Pythium and Phythopthora is an asset to the group.
- Dr Rob Wick
- Alliance Contributer
- Tel. 413-545-1045
- Email
- Rob is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts where he supervises the diagnostic laboratory. With a research focus on plant bacterial and fungal diseases, Rob provides expertise in understanding the biology of pathogens found in irrigation water. He has helped author Alliance articles in GMPro magazine.
- Dr Ratus Fischer
- Alliance Contributer
- Fischer EcoWorks
- Tel. 828-281-9644
- Email
- http://www.fischerecoworks.com/index.html
- With expertise in filtration systems and copper ionization, consultant Ratus Fischer has played a large role in coordinating Alliance workshops and developing articles in the GMPro series.
- Dr Bill Argo
- Email
- Bill is a Technical Manager at Blackmore with an interest in plant nutrition, media, and water. Bill helped author the Alliance's first article in GMPro magazine, and is helping to coordinate upcoming Alliance workshops in the northeast.
- Rick Yates
- Alliance Contributer
- Technical Support Manager
- Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies
- Email
- Rick is the Technical Support Manager at Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies. He has been very generous in providing his expertise on chlorine dioxide to the Alliance, helping us both in the planning of workshops and the preparation of articles for GMPro.
Goals and objectives
Troughs collect runoff for reuse
Our goal is:
To reduce runoff and water-related disease issues in the greenhouse and nursery industry by increasing grower knowledge of water technologies and water conservation practices.
To achieve our goal, we will:
- Bring growers and water industry representatives together in an education-oriented (rather than sales-oriented) setting,
- Ensure existing research and resources related to reducing runoff are accessible to growers, and
- Conduct original research where gaps in knowledge and/or practice exist.
Our objectives for the current year are to:
- Package water treatment technologies into an easy-to-use form for grower decision-making, and increase the number of growers who use this information to make water management decisions.
- Develop a protocol to quantify water use efficiency (water consumption, recycling, and runoff) for greenhouses and nurseries.
- Undertake research, initially focused on protocols for monitoring water treatment technologies and water quality.
Why the Alliance
Adequate supply of high quality water is a major issue for the horticulture industry:
- Drought and population growth have led to scarcity of water in many parts of North America.
- Increasing regulation of water supply and runoff impacts the management and profitability of greenhouses and nurseries.
Growers recognize the need for water conservation and runoff management, and many are proactive about water conservation. But water is a critical component of plant growth and health, and changes to water management can be risky. Growers need information and training to achieve success in their water conservation efforts, and the Water Education Alliance for Horticulture aims to fill this gap.
Join the Alliance
If you have questions or comments about water quality, technologies, or monitoring, we would like to hear from you. We also encourage inquiries from other organizations and researchers interested in participating in the Alliance.
Please send us a message at 