Episode 79: Understanding Plant Growth Hormones with Dr. Jim Barrett
Our guest this week is Dr. Jim Barrett. Jim has a bachelor of science from Auburn University in Agricultural Sciences, a Masters of Science from Auburn University with an emphasis on Physiology of Vegetable Crops, and a pHd from Michigan State University with an emphasis on physiology of horticulture crops. He was a professor at the University of Florida from 1978-2016 with a focus on crop production in controlled environments. A major component of his work was evaluating Plant Growth Hormones, also knowns as PGRs and developing new application strategies for greenhouse crops. After retiring from the University, he went on to run Barrett Horticultural Consulting for 4 years with a focus on crop production and facility planning for Florida medical cannabis producers. He has since retired again and requested that folks not attempt to contact him, but he kindly agreed to come on the podcast to share some of his experience around PGRs and was originally recommended to me by Suzanne Wainwright Evans. I was grateful to catch up with him on the phone and learn more about plant growth hormones and regulators and how they may impact crops like cannabis as well as what risks may be associated with their use.
