Horticultural Growth in Desert

At its annual conference this summer, the American Society for Horticultural Science tackles vexing challenges with practical steps and innovation. One such challenge is that of generating horticultural growth in the desert.

On Wednesday, July 24 beginning at 12:00pm in the Oakville Steakhouse Restaurant inside The Tropicana, the massive collaborative effort known as Desert Green will be revealed and examined by Angela O’Callaghan of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Maurice Robinson of the University of Nevada, https://ashs.confex.com/ashs/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Session/9377. This event is a luncheon during which O’Callaghan and Robinson will offer insight into the arduous nature of producing vegetation in a hostile environment.

The American Society for Horticultural Science hosts its international conference every summer offering an illuminating exchange of ideas and methodology that is critical to those working in the various fields of horticultural science and its education. But the sessions are also accessible to interested non-scientists who generally discover an importance tied to the information being exchanged. This year, the conference takes place in Las Vegas, NV, from July 21-25 at the famed Tropicana Hotel.

Although the Mojave Desert is not known as an agricultural paradise, it does have a great deal of ornamental horticultural activity. Desert Green serves as a collective of independently operating entities working toward various green-minded goals. It consists of The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, the Society for Arboriculture, Golf Course Superintendents Association, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, and the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

Members of the Desert Green collective contribute to the overarching effort to sustain life in an inhospitable environment. Their goal has not been an easy one to achieve, and not all of their efforts have proven successful. But their methods have informed the greater knowledge base as to what it takes to tame desert regions for livability.

O’Callaghan and Robinson will share their experiences during an accessible and motivational presentation.

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