Greenhouse Management Online

Grow your career with our online, non-credit course for industry professionals.

Growing plants in controlled environments such as greenhouses and indoor vertical farming operations is becoming increasingly important for production of high-value food, pharmaceutical, and ornamental crops. This course begins with an overview of the controlled environment (CE) industry and a review of the principles of horticulture. You will then learn key fundamentals of greenhouse and CE management, including fertilizer nutrients and irrigation, soilless growing substrates, water quality, plant height control, supplemental and photoperiodic lighting, pests, and crop scheduling. Participants will also learn about cutting-edge CE technologies for greenhouse structures and design, heating and cooling systems, fertilization/irrigation equipment, electric lighting, environmental control computers, hydroponics, robotics and automation.

^$660

Online On-Demand

Access / Completion Time:
6 Months

REGISTER

U of A 10% discount available - view details

Technology Requirements

Course Access Information

Accessing Your Course

The process to finalize your enrollment into a class is not automated. Within 24 business hours you will receive an email with further information about how to access and begin your class. Please note that access to begin your class will be delayed if you register for a class on a weekend, a holiday, at the start of a U of A academic semester, when the U of A is closed for inclement weather, or when the U of A is closed for approx. 2 weeks over winter break.

Course materials are online and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the U of A's online learning system. Each course module consists of a combination of lecture videos, high resolution images, supplemental reading assignments, and worksheets. In addition, examples and scenarios taken from real commercial operations are used to help communicate the key learning concepts.

Participants have 6 months from the date of registration to complete the course, including all quizzes and scoring an 80% or better on the final assessment. Upon satisfactory completion, participants will receive a certificate of completion from the University of Arkansas. This certificate can be used to self-report professional development hours.

Please consult the organization you wish to receive development credit from for instructions on how to convert contact hours to professional development hours. This course comprises 51 contact hours.

Learning Objectives

• Make crop decisions by understanding the underlying science and ‘why’ behind plant growth
• Diagnose and correct plant problems caused by nutritional, environmental, and cultural issues
• Know how to monitor crop fertility, scout for pests/disease, and track plant growth
• Understand pros and cons of different growing systems and techniques (for example, hydroponics versus soilless substrates, or greenhouse versus vertical farming)
• Evaluate and compare different technologies, make informed decisions on technology adoption
• Plan and schedule crops to meet critical market dates

Academic Credit

Students seeking academic credit for HORT 4703 should register through UAConnect.

Instructor

Dr. Ryan Dickson

Assistant Professor of Horticulture, University of Arkansas