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”
Greenhouse IPM practitioners have to produce high quality plants and produce with a more limited chemical arsenal. We also have to deal with several key pests that are known to readily develop resistance to multiple chemical classes, including thrips, whitefly and leafminers. So how do we avoid an uphill run on the resistance treadmill?
Hannah Fraser, Horticulture Entomologist with OMAFA, shares her decades of experience battling resistance issues in fruit crop pests with us in this next webinar.
Continue reading “Upcoming GrowON Webinar: Managing Pesticide Resistance in Greenhouses”This post was originally written by Abigail Wiesner, Acting Greenhouse Floriculture Production Specialist, with contributions from Chevonne Dayboll.
Christmas in July? Not quite, but poinsettias are making their way into greenhouses across Ontario, and they always arrive at the hottest time of the year.
Nutritional issues, environmental stress, PGR mistakes and early diseases can all be costly in this high-value crop. Read on for common pitfalls and how to avoid them, as well as links to pest management information in early production.
Continue reading “Points for Points! Production Pointers for 2024 Poinsettias”By Sarah Jandricic (OMAFA) and Judy Colley (Plant Products)
With the arrival of mandevilla, dipladenia and hibiscus cuttings, now is the time to start planning your management program for Thrips parvispinus. Unfortunately, it looks like this pest is here to stay in North America, and in the tropical plant industry at large.
In this post, we’ll focus on pesticide rotations to manage pesticide resistance, as well as a few tips and tricks to make sure your pesticides stay working.
Continue reading “Pesticide Rotation Guide for Thrips parvispinus in Canadian Greenhouses”
In this week’s “how-to” video, we’ll explore using plant washes on-farm.
Plant washes are a simple but effective method to detect low levels of critical pests, such as Thrips parvispinus.
Once you’ve washed out your pests, we’ve also developed a quick “decision tree” to help you easily determine if you’re dealing with Thrips parvispinus or another thrips pest.
Keep reading to find the link to the video and additional resources.
Continue reading ““How-to” Video of the Week: Plant Washes and Other Tools to Make Detecting Parvispinus Easier”
Thrips often get out of control in summer, when fall crop production is ramping up. But why is this?
Although some thrips enter your greenhouse via plant material (think tropical thrips like Parvispinus), common thrips like western flower thrips and onion thrips mostly enter your greenhouse through vents and doors.
Continue reading to learn when your thrips are likely to spike in your greenhouse, as well as how to effectively use mass trapping to combat thrips and other pests.
Continue reading “How-To Video of the Week: Mass Trapping for Thrips and Other Pests”
Every year at this time, growers start to think about strategies to minimizing western flower thrips on their chrysanthemum crops. This year, Thrips parvispinus is causing extra concern, given that chrysanthemum is one of its reported hosts.
Although there have been no reports yet of Parvispinus damaging chrysanthemums in North America, it’s still good to exercise a bit of caution. However, jumping the gun and spraying chemicals will likely just disrupt your biocontrol program for western flower thrips, leaving you with a bigger mess on your hands.
This post contains information on things you can do to put your mind at ease about all sorts of thrips this chrysanthemum season.
Continue reading “Potted Chrysanthemums 2024: Dips, Thrips and Threats”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”