Horticulture professor Mary Jane Clark has co-authored a collaborative publication with a University of Guelph professor that is the first of its kind in Canada.
Niagara College horticulture professor Mary Jane Clark is behind a collaborative published report that is the first of its kind in Canada.
Clark has co-authored the Fertilization Guide for Container-Grown Nursery Crops with University of Guelph professor Youbin Zheng, PhD, and the Zheng lab research team. The report summarizes more than five years of applied nursery crop fertilization research conducted at nurseries and research institutions throughout Southern Ontario. She noted that, to their knowledge, it is the first such report of its kind, and is written in a way to clearly present results to all members of the industry.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to support the nursery industry through horticulture research,” said Clark, who has been teaching full-time at Niagara College for the past two years. “Nursery growers are able to use the research results to optimize plant health and production timing. In addition, by applying species-specific fertilizer rates, growers are able to protect the environment from nutrient runoff, enhancing the nursery industry.”
Filled with photos comparing plant growth under a range of fertilizer rate treatments and easy-to-interpret summary tables for multiple growing regions, the guide allows nursery growers to quickly compare crop growth results. It also includes many fertilizer types, growing substrates, container sizes and nursery crops, and aims to present results in a straightforward, comprehensive manner.
Clark noted that Information in the guide can be applied throughout Canada and the northern part of the United States, for nurseries with a similar climate conditions. This guide is recommended as the best reference manual for making nursery crop fertilization decisions.
She pointed out that the report relates to the Nursery Management and Nursery Production courses she teaches at Niagara College, benefiting student learning. Students apply the research findings in the published report – which presents the most up-to-date fertilizer recommendations for the industry – to plants grown at the College’s container nursery.
While she currently resides in the Niagara region, Clark is originally from Blenheim, Ontario. She attended the University of Guelph where obtained her master’s degree in Science, Plant Agriculture, in addition to a bachelor’s degree in Science, Plant Biology, and a Creating Landscapes certificate. Before arriving at NC, she worked as a senior research technician at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. She has also worked as a research associate for the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences.
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