Flowers Canada Growers (FCG) has recently been hosting a webinar series on Thrips parvispinus. This series goes over what we’ve uncovered about this pest here in Ontario during a joint project by the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agri-business (OMAFA)
The next webinar will be tomorrow, July 16th at 12 EST, and will go over interesting behaviors and ecology we’ve learned about Parvi that could help us better manage this pest.
The last webinar will be held next week on July 23rd, also at noon EST. This presentation will look at progress that’s been made towards biocontrol of this invasive pests.
Read on for more details and how to watch the webinars!
Flowers Canada Growers Webinar Series on Thrips parvispinus
Webinar 2: “Getting to Know Parvispinus To Better Manage This Pest” – July 16th, 12pm EST
Click HERE to see the post about this webinar and get the zoom link!
Webinar 3: “Are we there yet? The road to Parvispinus IPM” – July 23rd, 12pm EST
In this final webinar, we will highlight the biocontrol strategies we tested against Thrips parvispinus, including biopesticides and predators applied to the substrate and to the foliage and their combined effects. We will also discuss how to integrate management of T. parvispinus with control programs for other pests, such as spider mites, and share examples of current management efforts in commercial greenhouses.
When:
The final webinar in the Parvispinus series will be held live on at noon (EST) on Thursday, July 23rd, so mark your calendars! No prior registration is required. Simply click on the link below
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83089894133?pwd=ou5321Nh9kV3qsffPwdEU5djMlM3oQ.1
A recording will made available at a later date, but we encourage attendance at the live event so you can get your questions answered.
Who:
Flower Canada Growers will be hosting a diverse line up of speakers to cover various aspects of Parvispinus biocontrol we’ve been looking into in Ontario:
- Dr. Roselyne Labbé is a research scientist at the Harrow Research and Development Centre in Ontario, Canada (at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), specializing in sustainable greenhouse arthropod pest management. Her work integrates insect ecology, crop protection, and applied biological control to develop practical, environmentally sustainable solutions for growers, while promoting the adoption of resilient agricultural systems through collaborative research and knowledge transfer.
- Dr. Sarah Jandricic is the Greenhouse Floriculture IPM Specialist for OMAFA. In this role, she helps guide and conduct the latest research on pest issues facing the industry.
- Cara McCreary (M.Sc.) has worked as the Greenhouse Vegetable IPM Specialist with OMAFA since 2015. Cara has a Master of Science in Environmental Biology from the University of Guelph. In her current role, Cara has worked extensively on emerging pest issues, such as pepper weevil and tomato brown rugose fruit virus.
- Taro Saito (M.Sc.) is an insect pathologist and Senior Research Technician for the Biocontrol lab at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre since 2010. His passion is developing new biocontrol agents, including Anystis baccarum, Nabis americoferus and he’s currently working on a new indigenous entomopathogenic fungus.
- Ashely Summerfield (M.Sc.) is a Senior Research Technician in the Biological Crop Protection Program at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Her work involves project management and conducting research trials in integrated pest management, with a particular focus on thrips in greenhouse crops.
More Info:
Questions about this webinar series and other FCG webinars can be directed to margaret@fco.ca