This post was jointly written by Dr. Chevonne Dayboll and Dr. Sarah Jandricic
It’s hard to believe, but as the first snow hits the ground here in Niagara, that means its time to think about spring crops again!
This post gathers some of the most important things to plan and prep for in the greenhouse, including ordering inputs, preventative maintenance, and your pest management and PGR plans!
Think of this post as your “to-do” check list for the month of December, as the time to plan all this is NOW, before your spring production begins.
We’ve also linked to some helpful videos we’ve recorded from our GrowON webinar series that are relevant to spring crops. They’re worth a re-watch – or a first watch – if you haven’t seen them before!
Dark green and yellow mottling symptom on foliage. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.
Several diagnostic labs in the Northeast U.S., as well as our own lab here at the University of Guelph, have received diseased calibrachoa suspected to have chili pepper mild mottle virus (CPMMoV). The supplier has alerted growers of this issue.
Although CPMMoV is NOT a regulated disease by CFIA or the USDA, it can still affect the quality of your crop and lead to losses.
Read on for a link to an excellent blog post on the topic written by Michigan State University Extension. This includes symptoms to look out for, the importance of testing, and what to do if you have it.
With the holiday season almost upon us, it’s time to turn our attention to Spring bedding crops. Although here for a brief window, the diversity of these crops means you’re bound to encounter some sort of disease and insect problems.
One way you can head off issues is to plan and prepare now. This post from January 2020 has important tips on sanitation for common spring crop diseases, dipsandearly sprays to prevent key pests, as well as tips on where to spend your biocontrol dollars.
With the holiday season over, it’s time to turn our attention to Spring bedding crops. Although here for a brief window, the diversity of these crops means you’re bound to encounter some sort of disease and insect problems.
One way you can head off issues is to plan and prepare now. This post has important tips on sanitation for common spring crop diseases, dipsandearly sprays to prevent key pests, as well as tips on where to spend your biocontrol dollars.
Given that it’s the season for pest problems like aphids on spring crops, I’d like to remind everyone of an important new pest management tool we have at our disposal.
Thanks to the hard work of Cary Gates at Flowers Canada Growers, and OMAFRA’s Jim Chaput, Beleaf (flonicamid)can now be used as a drench on greenhouse-grown ornamentals and cut flowers.
Read on for more details regarding the expanded label and potential phytoxicity issues.
You know the old rhyme: “April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring? Aphids“. Or sometimes it seems that way, anyways, with Spring bedding crops.
To help guide your pest management program this year, our friends (superiors?) over at Michigan State Extension have released a handy list of which crops are likely to attract which pests. Keep reading for more info.
It’s that time of year again, when baskets of Million Bells (Calibrachoa) are going up in the greenhouse. Here’s how to deal with and prevent some of their most common issues.
Iron deficiency in Calibrachoa. The resulting yellowing can look similar to symptoms caused by black root rot or nitrogen deficiency.
From a nutritional standpoint, the best thing you can is keep the pH of your calibrachoa in its ideal range; between 5.5 and 6.0. A pH higher than this can inhibit nutrient uptake, especially micronutrients such as iron.
Iron deficiency can be difficult to distinguish from other issues (like Black Root Rot – see below), but typically leads to yellowing of new growth. Leaves may only show chlorosis between the veins, or it may be spread throughout the leaf. This is different from nitrogen deficiency where yellowing occurs in the oldest leaves. If iron deficiency occurs, adding a chelated form of iron is best for uptake.
Yellowed plant growth (yellow circle) and dead plugs (orange circle) on a plug tray of Callibrachoa from black root rot.
Million bells are also highly susceptible toBlack Root Rot (Thielaviopsis) – I’ve seen this take out a good chunk of a crop. Symptoms include:
Stunting of foliage and roots
Plants in a tray will have uneven heights
black areas on roots
yellowing of leaves
Prevention is worth a pound of cure with this disease, as it is difficult to eradicate once established. Important steps to take include:
Proper Sanitation. To avoid an issue with Black Root Rot year after year, immediately dispose of diseased plants, limit water splashing, and sanitize benches, floors and used pots/plug trays. Always physically wash surfaces with a cleaner to remove organic matter, then follow up with a disinfectant such as KleenGrow (ammonium chloride compound).
Consider prophylactic applications of fungicides onplug trays. Products include Senator (thiophanate-methyl) or Medallion (fludioxonil). Preventative applications are an especially good idea if you’ve issues in the past. Adding bio-fungicides containing Trichoderma harzianum(e.g. Rootshield, Trianum) may also help.
Lowering your pH. This diseaseis significantly inhibited by a lower pH – between 5.0 and 5.5.
Manage fungus gnats and shoreflies, since these insects can spread Black Root Rot between plants. Treatments include nematodes, Hypoaspsis mites , or applications of Dimiln (diflubenzuron) or Citation (cyromazine).
If already established, rotated applications of Senator and Medallion may limit Black Root Rot, but are unlikely to cure it.
Aphids tend to be found on flowers and new growth of Calibrachoa.
Lastly, Million Bells are highly attractive to aphids. With baskets hung up in the greenhouse, they can be “out of sight, out of mind”, but regular monitoring is needed to prevent large aphid outbreaks. Place sticky cards directly in baskets, and routinely check plant material for aphid cast skins and honeydew.
Once aphids are detected (and they will be!), applications of Beleaf (flonicamid), Enstar (kinoprene) or Endeavor (pymetrozine) will usually take care of them. However, be aware that all of these insecticides take around 4-5 days to start causing aphid death.
With the holiday season almost upon us, it’s time to turn our attention to Spring bedding crops. Although here for a brief window, the diversity of these crops means you’re bound to encounter some sort of disease and insect problems.
Given that it’s the season for pest problems like aphids on spring crops, I’d like to remind everyone of an important new pest management tool we have at our disposal.
You know the old rhyme: “April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring? Aphids“. Or sometimes it seems that way, anyways, with Spring bedding crops.
