9335 Hazard Way
Suite 201
San Diego, CA 92123
5303043738
gspinelli@ucdavis.edu
Biography
Gerry's Website: https://ucanr.edu/sites/floriculturenursery/
Gerardo (Gerry) Spinelli is the new Production Horticulture Advisor serving the Nursery and Floriculture industry in San Diego. Gerry conducts applied research, extension, and education to improve viability and profitability of the Nursery and Floriculture industry, while conserving natural resources and complying with regulations. The Nursery and Floriculture industry in San Diego county is the first in California for volume of sales and the second in the US.
Gerry’s primary interests are irrigation management and water quality. These themes are a primary concern for growers given the high cost of water and the pressure from local and state water quality regulators. Nitrogen management is another of the advisor’s interests, given its strong relation to water management and its importance in the environmental impact of horticultural industry.
Pests, particularly invasive ones are another pressing issue for the industry. With the large volumes of ornamentals moving in and out from other states (primarily Florida and Hawaii), San Diego is particularly exposed to this threat.
Gerry is also interested in other themes unique to San Diego county, including urban agriculture and horticulture in the rural-urban interface and food deserts in low-income areas. Local growers face issues urban development encroaching into rural areas increasing the cost of real estate and the competition for water.
Nursery and Floriculture growers in San Diego county have shown the great ability to quickly react to these forces and adapt production practices to keep the industry profitable. Gerry’s primary concern is to conduct a research and extension program that serves the industry in present and future challenges.
Education
Discipline
HorticultureSpecialty
Nurseries and FloricultureAreas of Expertise (click to see all ANR academics with this expertise)
- Ornamental Crops, Landscape and Turf
- Cut Flowers, Foliage and Greens
- Potted Plants
- Horticulture
- Conservation and Efficient Use of Water
- Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships
Bibliography
Non-Peer Reviewed
- Spinelli, Gerry; Shogren, Chris (2024). Denitrifying Woodchip Bioreactors. San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter. April 2024.
- Spinelli, Gerardo; Middleton, Eric (2023). Can Predatory Mites Help As A Pest Management Strategy Against Agave and Aloe mite? San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter.
- Spinelli, Gerry (2023). Distribution uniformity of Multi-Stream Multi-Trajectory overhead sprinklers for outdoor container nurseries. HortScience Supplement - 2023 ASHS Presentation Abstracts. September 2023. https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/58/9S/article-pS1.xml
- Spinelli, Gerry; Shogren, Chris (2023). How to estimate whether you are over-irrigating in nurseries: a quick-and-dirty method. San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter. November 2023.
- Middleton, Eric; Spinelli, Gerry (2023). Managing Agave Mites: What we know so far. The Adviser. California Association of Pest Control Advisers. https://capca.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CAPCA_ADV_AUG-2023_LOW.pdf
- Spinelli, Gerardo; Pitton, Bruno J.L, et al. (2023). Water retention characteristic curves for substrate in containerized ornamental production. Nursery Management.
- Spinelli, Gerry; Shogren, Chris (2023). Why it is not as simple as changing the nozzles A common mistake with sprinkler irrigation in container nurseries. San Diego Grown Magazine. September 2023.
- Spinelli, Gerry; Johnson, Grant (2023). Why Pressure Drops as Water Flows in a Pipe and Other Irrigation Mysteries. San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter. August 2023.
- Middleton, Eric; Spinelli, Gerry (2022). Agave Mites: A Tiny Menace. San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter. December 2022.
- Spinelli, Gerry (2022). Evaluation of Sprinkler Heads for Use in Outdoor Container Nurseries. HortScience Supplement - 2022 ASHS Presentation Abstracts. August 2022. https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/57/9S/hortsci.57.issue-9S.xml
- Spinelli, Gerardo; Pitton, Bruno J.L (2022). Fertilizer injectors and fertigation for nurseries and greenhouses. San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter. May 2022.
- Spinelli, Gerry (2022). How to measure nitrate concentration in irrigation water. San Diego Grown Magazine. April 2022.
- Spinelli, Gerry; Pitton, Bruno J.L (2022). Measuring Irrigation System Distribution Uniformity. San Diego Cooperative Extension Newsletter. September 2022.
Technical Report - Irrigation system performance evaluation report with recommendations to improve efficiency #1, Altman Plants - Fallbrook facility - March 2021
Reporte de evaluación de desempeño de sistema de riego con recomendaciones para mejorar eficiencia, Altman Plants, Vivero de Escondido, #1 - Marzo 2021
Reporte de evaluación de desempeño de sistema de riego con recomendaciones para mejorar eficiencia, Altman Plants, Vivero de Escondido, #2 - Junio 2021
Technical Report - Irrigation system performance evaluation report with recommendations to improve efficiency #2, Altman Plants - Fallbrook facility - July 2021
Technical Report - Irrigation system performance evaluation report with recommendations to improve efficiency #3, Altman Plants - Fallbrook facility - December 2021
- Cahn, Michael; Lockhart, Thomas, et al. (2021). A new water treatment technology to reduce sediment and pesticides in agricultural runoff using polyacrylamide (PAM). Salinas Valley Agriculture Blog. January 2021.
Reporte de evaluación de desempeño de sistema de riego con recomendaciones para mejorar eficiencia #1, Altman Plants - Vivero de Fallbrook - Marzo 2021
- Cahn, Michael; Lockhart, Thomas, et al. (2021). Reducing Sediment & Pesticides in Ag Runoff. Vegetables West. March 2021.
ANR Workgroup Associations
- Floriculture and Nursery - Member
- Landscape and Urban Horticulture - Member
- Native American Community Partnerships - Member
- Vegetable Crops - Member