The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

Objective(s):
1. Explore the principles of protected cultivation in horticultural systems. 2. Illustrate the use of protected cultivation to mitigate abiotic and biotic challenges for fruit production.

The use of protected cultivation for fruit crops, particularly perennial tree fruits, has not been adopted on the same scale as in annual small fruit and vegetable production systems.  However, marketing and environmental constraints have led many to explore the use of protected cultivation for fruit crops.  The challenges in producing fruit crops in protected agricultural systems are currently being addressed by the proposed workshop speakers.  The objectives of this workshop are to explore the concepts of protected agriculture as it applies to fruit horticulture, and illustrate the potential for protected agriculture to address biotic and abiotic challenges to fruit production.