New Tool to Fight Mites and Bemisia Whitefly in Greenhouse Floriculture: Magister SC

As growers are continuously battling new pests, as well as old nemeses, any new tool is a welcome addition in the pesticide toolbox.

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency recently registered an interesting new product: Magister SC (fenazaquin), which is a miticide, insecticide AND a fungicide!

Although registered against powdery mildew in some crops, only the miticide/insecticide use pattern is allowed in greenhouse ornamentals. More information on this product is available below.

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Looking Ahead to 2023: Preparing for Spring Crops

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!

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NEW: Free Online IPM Training for Greenhouse Staff

Need a refresher on specific pests of floriculture, and what to do about them? Want to see how Canada – a world leader in biological control in ornamental crops – does things?

Then the following IPM training videos, made by specialists and consultants in Ontario, are for you!

Keep reading to learn how to access these videos, and the topics they cover.

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LOOK OUT! Here comes the Spider Man! (Oops. I mean Mites. Spider mites. Sorry; way less exciting).

Weekly-mum producers have seen higher-than-normal spider mite levels coming in on cuttings from the U.S. recently. This might impact seasonal potted-mum growers as well.

Here’s some tips and tricks on two spotted spider mite control within a chrysanthemum IPM program.

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Spring crops that are “magnets”for certain pests.

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.

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Where do thrips come from? YOUR MUM(s).

mum_damage_closeup — Thrips damage on mums.

Hopefully my bad attempt at a “Your Momma” joke will get your attention, because this is an important post.

Ongoing research by Rose Buitenhuis’ Lab at Vineland has shown that an incredible number of thrips and spider mites come in on imported mum cuttings. Here’s the scoop and what you can do about it.

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