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.
This post was contributed to by OMAFA’s Greenhouse Floriculture Production Specialists past and present: Kathryn Russell, Abigail Wiesner, and Dr. Chevonne Dayboll.
As we feel temperatures rising, summer is on its way – and so are garden mums! Although generally an easy crop, there are several tweaks you can make to help save headaches AND money. This post has updated information to help you optimize your nutrient management and growth regulation/tracking in garden mum production.
Continue reading “Garden Mum Refresher 2025: Managing Nutrients, Size Tracking, and PGRs”
On March 12th, 2025, Dr. Alexandra Revynthi’s lab (University of Florida) gave an amazing update on what they’ve been working on with regards to Thrips parvispinus. A lot of this was important basic knowledge about their biology, such as development time and survival at high temperatures. There were also quite a few lab and small greenhouse trials looking at potential biocontrol agents.
Some of this will be information we build on to create effective IPM programs for Parvi in the future. But some of these findings, you could put into use right now.
You can go watch the full webinar using the link in the full blog post, or read my summary notes and see what I thought were the important take-aways.
Continue reading “In Case you Missed it: UofF Webinar on Latest Thrips parvispinus Research”
This post was written by Abigail Wiesner, Acting Floriculture Production Specialist, with content contributions from Chevonne Dayboll.
With Million Bells (Calibrachoa) having filled up the greenhouse, it’s a great time to revisit our production practices and explore new ideas. This post contains some back to the basic’s information and new innovations for our favourite spring crop.
Continue reading “Producing Million Bells – 2025 Update”
It’s that time of year again, when Million Bells (Calibrachoa) are being started in the greenhouse.
This post will discuss common insect and disease pests, such as aphids, thrips and black root rot and viruses.
Stay tuned for an upcoming post about production tips and tricks for this popular spring favourite.
Continue reading “Managing Million Bells: 2025 Updates”
For those of you relying on chemical control for aphids in spring crops, some of you might have observed that Beleaf (Aria in the U.S.) has not been working as well recently, especially in green peach aphid (Myzus persicae).
This post will fill you in on what we know about potential resistance to flonicamid in aphids, and which chemicals are working.
Continue reading “Is Beleaf Still Working for Aphid Control? What We Know So Far and Alternative Chemicals for Spring 2025.”Originally published on the ONgreenhousevegetables blog on by Cara McCreary
They may be pretty, but they aren’t our friends. Spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive sap-feeding planthopper with potential to harm agriculture and forestry in Ontario.
But I only grow greenhouse fruits and vegetables, so why does it matter to me, you ask? Read on to learn more about why this pest matters to everyone.
Continue reading ““COMMUNITY” PEST ALERT: Spotted Lanternfly”This is a guest post by Avery Johnson (former OMAFA summer student and current M.Sc. student studying Thrips parvispinus) and S. Jandricic.
Having difficulty identifying thrips on sticky cards and need clear photos to send to your consultant or extension agent? Don’t want to invest in a microscope? Well, you’re in luck, because we’ve done the legwork to find some good alternatives to get high quality photos.
Continue reading “High Quality Photos for Thrips Identification: Rating Phone Attachments.”
Lewis mite is one of those pests that seems to go in cycles – some years we don’t see it at all, and some years I get reports as early as August.
This year there seems to be scattered reports. Given that Lewis mite populations can ramp up in a warm fall and rear their ugly heads in October, it seemed like a good time for an update on what’s working, and what’s not.
Poinsettia are being potted up and pest issues are already popping up! Read on to see what pests growers in Ontario are seeing, and what to do about them.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Pests 2024: Whitefly, Mealybugs and Other Pests”