This post was contributed to by Abigail Wiesner, Drs. Sarah Jandricic, and Chevonne Dayboll.
As we feel temperatures rising, summer is on its way – and so are garden mums! This post has updated information to help you optimize your irrigation, fertilizer, pest management programs and more in garden mum production.
Continue reading “Garden Mums 2024 – Tips, Tricks, and Production Bits”
Growers in Ontario continue to struggle with Thrips parvispinus on tropical crops like mandevilla, anthurium and schefflera. Unfortunately, reports out of Europe also indicate this invasive pest species can also attack poinsettia.
Read on for what you need to watch out for, and potential management strategies.
Continue reading “Parvispinus on Poinsettias? It’s Possible.”
Broad Mites (Polyphagotarsonemus latus) seem to be a regular occurrence nowadays in spring crops, especially Reiger begonias and New Guinea impatiens. Other crops that are commonly affected include torenia, exacum, ipomea and gerbera.
Broad mite are often difficult to detect and control. Read on for tips on monitoring and the latest management strategies for this pest.
Continue reading “Battling Broad Mite in Spring Crops”
In case you missed the GrowON webinar by myself and Judy Colley from Plant Products on Jan 29th, we’ve now uploaded to Youtube!
You can find it the ONFloriculture Youtube page, along with lots of other useful videos and webinars.
Are recorded webinars not your thing? Well, then you have two additional options!
Continue reading “In Case you Missed it: “A Pain in the Parvi” GrowON Webinar Recording (Plus, Another Thrips parvipsinus Webinar with GrowPro!)”
Thrips parvispinus has become a serious pest of tropical ornamental crops in North American since 2020. Due to the severity of the damage, IPM strategies are needed to complement chemical control until an effective and economical biocontrol program can be developed for this pest.
Mass trapping through traps, lures, or trap plants can be an effective strategy for thrips. We’ve already seen that mass trapping cards REALLY help with this pest (more on that, later). And, it seems that trap plants may also be an effective strategy when used properly in vegetative crops.
Read on for what we did and how to implement it on YOUR farm.
Continue reading “Trap Plants as a Tool Against Thrips parvispinus in Tropicals”
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.
This guest post was written by Jessie deHaan, Research Technician at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland).
Economical and high quality plant production has always been a balancing act between fertilizer, light, irrigation and other input costs.
Unfortunately, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic slow-down, and exacerbated by the subsequent war in Ukraine, have negatively affected the global supply of fertilizer and plant nutrients. These supply issues are leading to rising fertilizer prices for growers.
As input costs rise, how can growers respond and save money, while still producing first-rate products?
Continue reading “Is Lowering Fertilizer Right For You?”
In a previous blog post, we talked about which pesticides can control Thrips parvispinus if you end up with an infestation from imported plant material.
But how do you figure out if this invasive pest is in your facility in the first place? And, if so, what’s the best way to monitor their populations?
After working with this pest for the last 1-2 years, researchers like myself have figured out which monitoring methods are most effective. This can help you identify the problem early, begin a management plan, and monitor the efficacy of your controls.
Continue reading “Got Tropicals? How to Detect and Monitor for Thrips parvispinus.”
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.”