A student-organized conference at Pershore heard the college call for closer collaboration between businesses and the college. The one day conference was organized by Ross Dyke, a second-year student in the sustainable horticulture technology degree program. His aim was for students to meet people who are leading technological change.
The horticultural technology courses at Pershore introduce students to hydroponic growing, robots, drones and methods of sustainable crop protection. In a hydroponic chamber, students learn to think scientifically and understand how plants grow in a controlled space.
Drones are already used for mapping, spraying and seeding, increasing accuracy, reducing compaction and reducing costs. Technology has improved so much that a 50-hectare field can be sprayed in one hour on a single charge.
Expertise in sustainable crop protection is essential as chemical use is forecast to drop by 50% or more by 2030, especially in hazardous plant protection products which are likely to be removed from use. Students learn about the hierarchy of control that starts with cultural ways to control pests and diseases, followed by biological, physical, and as a last resort chemical controls.
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