Phlora is a company founded by Dr. Ricardo Hernandez and John J. Jackson Sr. The company focuses on changing global agriculture for the better by strengthening the plants from the start (Phlora). It is located in Ralegh, North Carolina, and it collaborates with the University of Arizona and NC State University (Phlora, Inc.).
The Phlora system is a proven platform built on CEA that creates optimal growth conditions for young plants (Phlora, Inc.). Phlora’s customers can benefit from reduced pests, disease, water usage, and land use while ensuring the best environment for the plants. For that, the company utilizes innovative discoveries, designs, and research that provide economic value to the global agricultural industry. Phlora’s customers have the opportunity to grow their agri-business on the Phlora platform, with access to unique technology, recipes, and specialized expertise (Phlora, Inc.). The company also provides research and solution services, using its advanced knowledge to help and give advice on various agricultural issues (Phlora).
The company grows vegetables, food, nutraceuticals, phytonutrients, ornamentals, and medicinal plants. Phlora also works and grows with such grower markets as field growers, young plant nurseries, vertical farms, and production greenhouses.
The company utilizes several main agricultural techniques to ensure the plants grow strong and produce desired results. One of such techniques is grafting, which is usually performed on vegetables. The process of grafting protects vegetables from diseases, temperature stresses, salinity, and drought (Singh et al., 2017). Grafting involves the rootstock/scion process, placing a portion of one plant’s scion into a stem or root of another plant (Fallik & Ziv, 2020). After the graft union is healed, it is acclimatized and can perform better in different environmental conditions (Fallik & Ziv, 2020).
References
Fallik, E., & Ziv, C. (2020). How rootstock/scion combinations affect watermelon fruit quality after harvest? Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 100(8), 3275-3282.
Phlora, Inc. (n.d.). LinkedIn.
Phlora. (n.d.).
Singh, H., Kumar, P., Chaudhari, S., & Edelstein, M. (2017). Tomato grafting: A global perspective. HortScience, 52(10), 1328-1336.