It’s that time of year again, when problems early in the crop may have caught up with you. This includes root rots, Lewis mite, and Bemisia whitefly.
Now, you’ll be forced to make a choice with your poinsettia crop. Do you stay the course with a biocontrol program? Or spray for pests? And, as always, the question is “spray with WHAT”?
This post has tips on pest management decision making when it comes to common poinsettia problems in October.
Hopefully you’ve read our previous post on pest management in propagation. Now it’s time to cover poinsettia IPM during early production.
This post will cover the first signs of root rots, as well as whitefly and Lewis mite monitoring and management. As healthy plants are better able to defend themselves from pests and diseases, we’ll also give a quick nutrient refresher.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Pest Management Pointers: Early Production 2023”
Poinsettias are here! In the next few posts we’ll be breaking down production into into 4 key growing periods: Receipt/Propagation, Early Production, Late Production, and Finishing.
This post on propagation will cover things you can do now to treat pests and diseases in your cuttings to prevent BIG problems later. And make sure to check out Dr. Chevonne Dayboll’s previous post on ensuring cutting quality.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Pest Management Pointers 2023: Receipt Through Potting Up.”Poinsettias are almost here! Instead of covering the whole crop cycle, this year we’re breaking posts down into 4 key growing periods: Receipt/Propagation, Early Production, Late Production, and Finishing.
This post on propagation will cover things you can do now to treat pests and diseases in your cuttings to prevent BIG problems later. And make sure to check out Dr. Chevonne Dayboll’s post from last week, on ensuring cutting quality.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Pest Management Pointers: Receipt Through Potting Up.”It’s that time of year again where you have to make a choice with your poinsettia. Do you stay the course with natural enemies, or abandon your bio program and spray for whitefly? And spray with WHAT?
This post has tips on how to test pesticides NOW, so that when it comes down to the wire, you’ll know what is – and isn’t – working.
Continue reading “The Whitefly “Tipping Point”and Testing Pesticides in Poinsettia”
T’is poinsettia sticking season once again, and the question always comes down to the same thing: do I use chemicals to control Bemisia whitefly and hope it works this year? Or do I switch to biological control? Here we show some head to head comparisons that can help you decide.
An in-depth discussion of this topic was also captured by MSU’s “Bug Bites” last year, and I’ve included the video below.
Continue reading “Comparing Biocontrol to Pesticides for Bemisia Whitefly Control in Poinsettia”
When poinsettias get problems, they always seem to hit hard and fast. Things like whitefly, Lewis mite, root rots, and nutritional issues can all quickly derail a quality crop. This is why scouting might be more important in this crop than any other.
Here’s a month by month guide on what you should be looking for to prevent small problems from becoming big issues.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Problems: Your Monthly Scouting Guide, 2021”
It’s that time of year again where you have to make a choice with your poinsettia. Do you stay the course with natural enemies, or abandon your bio program and spray for whitefly? And spray with WHAT?
This post has tips on how to test pesticides NOW, so that when it comes down to the wire, you’ll know what is – and isn’t – working.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Problems 2020: The “Tipping Point”and Testing Pesticides”
When poinsettias get problems, they always seem to hit hard and fast. Things like whitefly, Lewis mite, root rots, and nutritional issues can all quickly derail a quality crop. This is why scouting might be more important in this crop than any other.
Here’s a month by month guide on what you should be looking for to prevent small problems from becoming big issues.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Problems: Your Monthly Scouting Guide”
Although we’ve been talking for years here in Canada about dipping your poinsettia cuttings in low-risk pesticides, some growers have yet to take the plunge.
This preventive technique improves efficacy of BOTH biocontrol and pesticide programs for Bemisia, since it lowers your starting pest pressure.
If you’re still unsure of how or when to apply cutting dips, check out the rest of this post.
Continue reading “Dipping Poinsettia Cuttings to Reduce Whitefly 101: 2020 Edition”