Give Your Feedback on the Greenhouse Biosecurity Guide – Nov 16 & 26th

The Canadian Plant Health Council (CPHC), in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, is seeking your input on the National Farm-Level Biosecurity Standard for the Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Sectors, as well as the associated Floriculture Sector Biosecurity Guide.

Why is this important?

  • Biosecurity is critical to protecting Canada’s greenhouse, nursery and floriculture sectors from pests, diseases, and other risks that can impact productivity and market access. The current standard and guides were developed almost 10 years ago, and we want to ensure they remain relevant and effective in today’s production environment.

What’s available to help you?
The CPHC has developed a short overview video that explains the purpose and key elements of the standard. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/HMQx5lUgToQ

How can you provide feedback?
We invite you to share your thoughts on whether the standard and guides require updating. Feedback can be provided in two ways:

  1. Complete the questionnaire available here: https://forms-formulaires.alpha.canada.ca/en/id/cmr3lfv3c009r01vrh1vhm512
  2. Participate in an engagement session:
English sessionsFrench sessions
November 16th, 3-4 pm EST Register for this eventNovember 10th, 3-4 pm EST Register for this event
November 26th, 2-3 pm EST Register for this eventNovember 23rd, 1-2 pm EST Register for this event

Your input is essential to ensure these resources continue to support strong biosecurity practices across Canada’s greenhouse, nursery and floriculture sectors.

For questions, please contact:
secretariat@planthealth-santevegetale.ca

Le Conseil canadien de la santé des végétaux (CCSV), en collaboration avec l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments, sollicite votre rétroaction sur la Norme nationale de biosécurité à la ferme pour les secteurs des serres, des pépinières et de la floriculture, ainsi que sur les guides de biosécurité connexes :

Pourquoi est-ce important?
La biosécurité est essentielle pour protéger les secteurs canadiens des serres, des pépinières et de la floriculture contre les ravageurs, les maladies et d’autres risques susceptibles de nuire à la productivité et à l’accès aux marchés. La norme et les guides actuels ont été élaborés il y a près de 10 ans, et nous voulons nous assurer qu’ils demeurent pertinents et efficaces dans le contexte actuel de la production agricole.

Quelles ressources sont à votre disposition?
Le CCSV a préparé une courte vidéo présentant l’objectif et les principaux éléments de la norme. Vous pouvez la visionner ici : https://youtu.be/mfLQYZbap2M

Comment pouvez-vous fournir vos commentaires?
Nous vous invitons à nous faire part de votre avis quant à la nécessité de mettre à jour la norme et les guides. Voici deux façons de nous transmettre vos commentaires :

  1. Remplir le questionnaire disponible ici : https://forms-formulaires.alpha.canada.ca/fr/id/cmr3lfv3c009r01vrh1vhm512
  2. Participer à une séance de mobilisation :
Séances en anglaisSéances en français
Le 16 novembre, de 15 à 16 h (HNE) Inscrivez-vous à cette séanceLe 10 novembre, de 15 à 16 h (HNE) Inscrivez-vous à cette séance
Le 26 novembre, de 14 à 15 h (HNE) Inscrivez-vous à cette séanceLe 23 novembre, de 13 à 14 h (HNE) Inscrivez-vous à cette séance

Votre contribution est essentielle afin que ces ressources continuent de soutenir des pratiques de biosécurité solides dans les secteurs canadiens des serres, des pépinières et de la floriculture.

Aidez-nous à passer le mot!
Nous vous encourageons à partager largement ce message dans vos réseaux, en particulier auprès des producteurs et des organisations de producteurs. Il est essentiel de joindre la communauté des producteurs pour que les ressources mises à jour reflètent la réalité du terrain et les besoins pratiques.

Merci de votre temps et de votre engagement à soutenir les secteurs canadiens des serres, des pépinières et de la floriculture.

Pour toute question, veuillez communiquer avec :
secretariat@planthealth-santevegetale.ca

Spotted Lanternfly Expert Q&A Panel TOMORROW: Register Now

SLF adults in a net from a detection site in Windsor, Ontario. October 2026. Image credit: L. Des Marteaux

Now that Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) has been found in Ontario, and is regulated, it’s more important than ever for growers of ALL horticultural crops to be aware of this pest, it’s host range, restricted areas and the current regulations.

We encourage everyone in the Nursery and Greenhouse Sectors to register today for a free Q&A virtual event for SLF. This will be held Tuesday, November 10th at 10am.

Click here to register

Hosted by the Invasive Species Centre, this webinar will cover the current status of Spotted Lanternfly in Canada and what lies ahead. A panel of experts from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Natural Resources Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agri-business, Landscape Ontario, Brock University, and Pennsylvania State University will respond to questions.

Participants may submit questions in advance during registration.

poster with details about the webinar and a QR code for registration

Mandevilla IPM Program Part 4: Putting Together a Cheaper Spray Program

Fig. 1. Mandevilla plants showing minimal Parvispinus damage due to effective spray programs in Ontario. Photo by OMAFA.

This last post in this series summarizes the strategy behind the spray program for Thrips parvispinus control in mandevilla in Ontario.

After several years of refinement to bring down costs while maintaining efficacy, several growers have been using this program, or some version of it, for several years. This program focuses on critical “spray periods” versus weekly spraying, and takes advantage of spot sprays, focusing on sensitive varieties.

That we’ve found a successful and economical program in mandevilla is quite an achievement, given the lower number of pesticide available for this pest in Canada versus the U.S., and the long growth period of the crop (July – April).

Read on for how we’ve put this all together through trial and error, and for cost comparisons to more traditional spray programs.

Continue reading “Mandevilla IPM Program Part 4: Putting Together a Cheaper Spray Program” →

Free workshops on Spotted Lanternfly in Niagara Next Week!

A version of this post was originally posted on the ONnurserycrops.com blog, written by Cassie Russell.

Landscape Ontario and OMAFA are partnering to provide two more FREE Spotted Lanternfly workshops this fall. The first will be in Niagara next week. The next will be in the Windsor area in November.

Have burning questions about SLF? Not sure how SLF may affect your green industry business or clients? Come attend the workshops.

Continue reading for details.

Continue reading “Free workshops on Spotted Lanternfly in Niagara Next Week!” →

Second Intake of the Food Safety and Growth Initiative Opens October 19th, 2026 to March 1st, 2027

SCAP Logo

The governments of Ontario and Canada are offering $2 million to small businesses to improve their food safety programs.

Are you a grower who produces ready-to-eat minimally processed fruit and vegetables and/or ready-to-eat bagged salads, leafy greens, or herbs? If so, you may be eligible.

Continue reading “Second Intake of the Food Safety and Growth Initiative Opens October 19th, 2026 to March 1st, 2027” →

Attacking Parvi from All Sides: Substrate and Foliar Biocontrols for a Novel Thrips Pest

IPM Staff at a local greenhouse inspecting mandevilla flowers for Parvi.

This post was written by Jessie deHaan (Research Technician, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre) and Dr. Sarah Jandricic (Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist, OMAFA).

Part 1 of the three-part webinar series on Thrips parvispinus focused on controlling incoming thrips on cuttings, while Part 2 shared the interesting behaviour and ecology that we’ve learned about Thrips parvispinus (Parvi) that could help us better manage this pest.

The final webinar is all about exploring Parvi IPM in greenhouse trials. Combining biologicals, chemical applications and other IPM interventions throughout plant production may help give you the best footing against Parvi – and other concurrent pests – while avoiding pesticide resistance.

Read on for the link to the webinar and for our written summary.

Continue reading “Attacking Parvi from All Sides: Substrate and Foliar Biocontrols for a Novel Thrips Pest” →

Introducing OMAFA’s New Acting Floriculture Production Specialist

Kyle Hendricks, the new Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist at OMAFA.

Some of you may be aware that Kathryn Russell, OMAFA’s Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist, is on leave. She’s working on a little propagation project of her own 😉

Please join me in welcoming Kyle Hendricks as the Acting Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist for the next 12 months, starting October 5th. He’ll be moderating at CGC this year (on his 3rd day on the job!). If you see him running around the conference centre, make sure to say hi and make him feel welcome.

Kyle will be handling all things related to ornamental production, including nutrients, lighting, substrates, and the greater greenhouse environment. He will also be contributing to policy and programming behind the scenes.

Read on for more information about Kyle’s experience and how to get in touch with him.

Continue reading “Introducing OMAFA’s New Acting Floriculture Production Specialist” →

IPM in Mandevilla: Part 3 – Reducing Costs in Early Production.

Over the past few months, I’ve posted a series on IPM in Mandevilla – now one of our more challenging crops, thanks to Thrips parvispinus!

This week I’ll be going over strategies we’ve used at a few farms to decrease costs of IPM in Mandevilla NOW, in early production, which can creep up under weekly spray programs. I’ll also be incorporating some case studies from growers, to better illustrate what’s working in the real world.

I’ve included an updated chart for IPM of Mandevilla pests in this post that is a bit cleaner. Lastly, stay tuned for Part 4, which will cover how to save money in late production.

Continue reading “IPM in Mandevilla: Part 3 – Reducing Costs in Early Production.” →