Expired/Unwanted Pesticides on Your Farm? Mark Your Calendar for the 2025 Collection Event.

Clean Farms is an organization that has been working with communities for the past 15 to create practical recycling programs for farmers. One of these programs includes FREE collection and disposal of unwanted pesticides, which only happens every 3 years!

The collection date for the Niagara area is Monday, September 22, 2025. Make sure to read on for more details, or for other collection sites/dates near you!

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NEW DATE: GrowON Webinar on Japanese Flower Thrips now Wednesday August 27th

To make sure growers have the latest information on new thrips pests affecting greenhouse crops, GrowON is running a 3 part webinar series on thrips besides western flower thrips. The first installment will be on Japanese flower thrips on August 27th, with Judy Colley (Plant Products) and Sarah Jandricic (OMAFA).

To attend, please use the registration link in the post below. If you’ve already registered, you’re still good for the new date of the 27th!

Setosus webinar poster July 2025 Download

Description:

Another new thrips on the block? Thrips setosus, also known as the Japanese flower thrips, affects hydrangeas, cyclamen, herbs and more. Judy Colley, technical lead for Plant Products, will share information on greenhouse trials for controlling this pest. She will be joined by Dr. Sarah Jandricic (OMAFA) who will cover biology, hosts plants, damage and current research. She will also go over pesticide options.

Time: Wednesday, August 27th, 12-1pm

Registration:

Please register for Part 1 of this Webinar series by using this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_30N3jt1KRbOyva0s7oh5Dg

GrowON’s “More than Just Westerns” Thrips Webinar Series, Part 1: Japanese Flower Thrips

Over the past few years, we seem to be battling a whole new posse of thrips species. First it was onion thrips moseying on up into our chrysanthemums and gerbera. Then, it was Parvispinus, which was like a runaway train in our tropicals. Now, it’s Japanese flower thrips (Thrips setosus), riding into town on crops like hydrangea.

To make sure growers have the latest information on these pests, GrowON is running a 3 part webinar series on thrips besides western flower thrips. The first installment will be on Japanese flower thrips on August 20th. Read on for how to register for this free webinar.

*A lineup of thrips species that attack greenhouse ornamentals. Can you pick out the usual suspects from the new kids in town? Photo by A. Summerfield, Vineland.*

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Managing Pesticide Resistance in Greenhouse Crops

With July being the beginning of poinsettia season, as well as the time growers are starting many tropical plants for next spring, it’s time to be thinking about managing pesticide resistance. Pesticide resistance readily develops in populations of key greenhouse pests, including Bemisia whitefly, spider mites, and more. So how do we avoid an uphill run on the resistance treadmill?

Hannah Fraser, Horticulture Entomologist with OMAFA, shared her decades of experience battling resistance issues in fruit crop pests in a GrowON webinar recorded last summer. For those that missed it, I thought now would be a good time to post the video on the blog. (As always, you can find all of our previous GrowON webinars on the ONFloriculture Youtube channel.) Keep reading to watch the video as well as links to other resources on resistance management.

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LUNA PRIVILEGE GREENHOUSE® Fungicide label expanded via Minor Use Program to help manage Botrytis blight and Powdery mildew on Greenhouse and Outdoor Ornamentals and Suppression of Powdery Mildew on Rose in Canada

This post was originally published on the ONnurserycrops blog by Cassie Russell, Nursery and Landscape Specialist for OMAFA.

Commercial ornamental growers now have another tool in the toolbox thanks to the Minor Use Program. LUNA PRIVILEGE GREENHOUSE^® Fungicide label has been expanded to help growers manage powdery mildew and botrytis in greenhouse and outdoor ornamental crops. Continue reading below for an abbreviated outline of the new label.

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Lewis Mites 2025 – a Poinsettia Problem that’s Here to Stay?

*Lewis mite damage on poinsettia. Photo by OMAFA.*

Let’s face it: although Lewis mites (Eotetranychus lewisi) used to be more of a cyclical pest, this mite has been consistently bad in poinsettia the last few years. As regular Lewis mite infestations now seem to be the new normal in poinsettia, this week is the time to to start thinking about your pest control plan for Lewis mite.

Whether you choose the preventive route or the wait-and-see approach, knowing which strategies and chemicals are working is critical. Read on for tips on dipping to prevent mites along and what we learned from last year‘s chemical approaches.

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June 24, 2025: Japanese Beetles Have Started to Emerge!

Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica) adults were caught in pheromone traps yesterday in Vineland, ON, by Cassie Russell, OMAFA’s Nursery and Landscape Specialist. Read on for what the start of the adult emergence period means in terms of pest management for outdoor nursery and floriculture crops.

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Which Microscope Should you Buy for Your Greenhouse?

With new invasive species popping up, the need for growers to more closely inspect pests and damage is at an all time high. This has led to interest in on-farm pest identification.

When it comes to thrips identification, specifically, investing in a microscope is a necessary evil. But a decent microscope is now a LOT cheaper than it used to be. Here, we’ve provided a video to walk you through what features to look for.

The full post will also provide you with model numbers and links, to make microscope shopping easier!

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Updates to your digital toolbox: Crop Hub

This post was written by S. Jandricic and Nicole Berardi, OMAFA’s project lead on Crop Hub.

If you are looking for pest management information, the Crop Protection Hub has you covered!

Several new features and functionalities are available for the 2025 growing season, the most exciting of which is the new “sort by efficacy” feature. This allows you to sort products by how well they work for a single or multiple selected pests.

Keep reading to see all the new features and how to use them.

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Garden Mum Refresher 2025: Insect Pest and Disease Management

In case you missed it, earlier this week we talked about nutrient management and growth regulation/tracking for garden mums.

This post will focus on which pests most often affect garden mums in Ontario, and preventative actions you may want to take. Keep reading to learn more.

*A tarnished plant bug feeding on a bud of chrysanthemum, which can cause petal distortion. Photo by OMAFA.*

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