The Horticultural Trades Association has announced leading industry experts in automation, innovation and precision crop protection as speakers at FutureGrow Expo 2026: Nursery of the Future.

The HTA’s specialist industry event focusing on emerging technologies in ornamental horticulture and cross-sector innovation, crucial for businesses to remain competitive, will take place on 6 October 2026 at NAEC Stoneleigh, in Warwickshire.

The three speakers confirmed for FutureGrow Expo 2026: Nursery of the Future are:

• Andrey Ivanov, a Director at Wilkin & Sons Ltd, where he focuses on improving productivity, sustainability, and resilience through the adoption of new technologies.

• Dr Minshad Ansari, the CEO and Founder of Bionema Group and one of the leading voices in global biological crop protection.

• Prof. Lorenzo Cotrozzi, an Associate Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Pisa and an expert in AI, plant science, hyperspectral sensing and digital agriculture.

Andrey Ivanov is a Director at Wilkin & Sons Limited, based in Tiptree, Essex, where he leads operations and contributes to the business’s long-term strategic development.  As a grower, he will focus his talk on improving business resilience through commercial adoption and application of technology and connecting innovation to return on investment and operational resilience.

Dr Minshad Ansari, the CEO and Founder of Bionema Group, is recognised as one of the leading voices in global biological crop protection. His talk will focus on biological control and plant health in ornamentals, why product formulation and delivery determine performance, cost and consistency and what the industry needs to do next to accelerate adoption.

Prof. Lorenzo Cotrozzi is an Associate Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Pisa, whose expertise combines AI, plant science, hyperspectral sensing and digital agriculture. His talk will focus on AI and the digital transformation in horticulture to create resilient nurseries of the future, early plant stress detection and precision crop management.

In addition to the confirmed speakers, FutureGrow Expo 2026: Nursery of the Future will include an R&D hub, live outdoor demonstrations of innovative equipment, and next-generation solutions for commercial growers.  The event aims to help transform business productivity and sustainability and act as a rich source of knowledge and inspiration, with engaging presentations and plenty of time and space for networking.

Wayne Brough, Technical Horticulture Manager at the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), said:

“Taking a holistic approach when addressing future nursery needs is vitally important; dealing with individual topics or issues in isolation leads to piecemeal solutions, which often fail to generate synergistic benefit. The new HTA strategic theme of Nursery of the Future aims to capitalise on the old adage - the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”

Environmental horticulture crop production in the UK, including supply to forestry, is worth £1.7 billion per year. In 2024, FutureGrow Expo was attended by UK growers and plant producers who account for around a quarter of the value (£400m) of UK tree and plant production.

More information about the speakers can be found here: https://hta.org.uk/futuregrow/speakers

For registration and details about exhibitors, visit: hta.org.uk/futuregrow/visitors