Thrips parvispinus Webinar 3: Attacking Parvi from All Sides

*IPM Staff at a local greenhouse inspecting mandevilla flowers for Parvi.*

This post was written by Jessie deHaan (Research Technician, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre) and Dr. Sarah Jandricic (Greenhouse Floriculture Specialist, OMAFA).

Part 1 of the three-part webinar series on Thrips parvispinus focused on controlling incoming thrips on cuttings, while Part 2 shared the interesting behaviour and ecology that we’ve learned about Thrips parvispinus (Parvi) that could help us better manage this pest.

The final webinar is all about exploring Parvi IPM in greenhouse trials. Combining biologicals, chemical applications and other IPM interventions throughout plant production may help give you the best footing against Parvi – and other concurrent pests – while avoiding pesticide resistance.

Read on for the link to the webinar and for our written summary.

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IPM in Mandevilla: Part 3 – Reducing Costs in Early Production.

Over the past few months, I’ve posted a series on IPM in Mandevilla – now one of our more challenging crops, thanks to Thrips parvispinus!

This week I’ll be going over strategies we’ve used at a few farms to decrease costs of IPM in Mandevilla NOW, in early production, which can creep up under weekly spray programs. I’ll also be incorporating some case studies from growers, to better illustrate what’s working in the real world.

I’ve included an updated chart for IPM of Mandevilla pests in this post that is a bit cleaner. Lastly, stay tuned for Part 4, which will cover how to save money in late production.

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Thrips parvispinus: Know Thy Enemy‘s Behaviour

This post written by Jessie deHaan (M.Sc.), Research Technician in the Biocontrol Lab at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

Recent collaborative research from Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agri-Business (OMAFA), Agriculture & Agri Food Canada (AAFC), and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) has helped reveal some key components of Thrips parvispinus ecology and behaviour.

This has helped us to develop monitoring approaches for this pest in greenhouse floriculture, and is helping to point us towards optimized control strategies.

This research was covered in a recent webinar hosted by Flowers Canada Growers (linked to in the post below). But if you’d rather read than watch, this post summarizes our findings!

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Dip, cool or steam? Clean Start treatments for Thrips parvispinus

Mandevilla cuttings in propagation with different treatment tags in them.

This post written by Ashley Summerfield (M.Sc.), Senior Research Technician in the Biocontrol Lab at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

They say that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure” and nowhere is this truer than in IPM. Reducing the incoming number of invading pests will inevitably improve the success of any pest management strategy.

This post covers recent research advances made by Vineland Research on treatments of propagative plant material to help control Thrips parvisipinus. This includes effects of treatments on all thrips life stages, including eggs, as well as potential phytotoxicity of treatments on tropical plants.

This post also includes a link to the recent webinar on starting clean for Parvi recorded by Flowers Canada Growers, if you prefer that format!

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REMINDER: Thrips parvispinus behavior webinar TOMORROW at 12 EST. Plus, don’t miss the 3rd webinar in this series on Parvispinus July 23.

Flowers Canada Growers (FCG) has recently been hosting a webinar series on Thrips parvispinus. This series goes over what we’ve uncovered about this pest here in Ontario during a joint project by the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agri-business (OMAFA)

The next webinar will be tomorrow, July 16th at 12 EST, and will go over interesting behaviors and ecology we’ve learned about Parvi that could help us better manage this pest.

The last webinar will be held next week on July 23rd, also at noon EST. This presentation will look at progress that’s been made towards biocontrol of this invasive pests.

Read on for more details and how to watch the webinars!

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Upcoming Webinar: Getting to Know Thrips parvispinus

The first webinar covered the Start Clean approach for cuttings infested with Parvispinus (that recording will be made available shortly). The next webinar will be held on Thurs, July 16th, and will go over interesting behaviors and ecology we’ve learned about Parvi that could help us better manage this pest.

Read on for more details.

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Controlling Parvispinus, Oleander Aphid and Spider Mites in Mandevilla: Part 2 – Spider Mite Resistance Management.

Last week, I posted an updated IPM plan for Mandevilla that balances Thrips parvispinus (“Parvi”) control while taking into consideration other pests, as well as costs. The last post covered propagation in detail, including biocontrols and chemicals.

This week I’ll be going over the best way to balance control of Thrips parvispinus (“Parvi”) and two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) in production. I’ll provide a working Parvi spray program that gives you high-quality plants by sale, but also makes sure spider mites don’t walk away with your crop (or your wallet!).

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How To Manage Parvispinus, Oleander Aphid and Spider Mites Effectively in Mandevilla: Part 1 – Propagation.

When Thrips parvispinus first came on the scene in Ontario, our one goal was to knock back this pest any way we could. Four years later, we are suffering the effects of an all-chemical program. This includes high costs, along with insecticide resistance developing in two-spotted spider mite, which used to be managed biologically before Parvipsinus came along.

Based on OMAFA’s work with commercial farms, along with input from technical reps from biocontrol companies, we’ve come up with a more refined IPM program for Mandevilla that balances Parvispinus control while taking into consideration other pests, as well as costs.

I’ll be going over this program in detail over a 3 part series, so buckle up!

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Missed our Recent Webinars on Cybersecurity and Invasive Thrips? The Videos are Now Online!

Part of running a greenhouse is keeping it safe – whether that be from hackers or from invasive pests! We recently recorded a webinar on cybersecurity for operational tech and smart devices – and why small businesses are a prime target. We also recorded webinars on Thrips parvispinus and Thrips setosus, the two invasive pests that have been affecting floriculture crops the past 4-5 years.

Keep reading to get more details on these webinars, and to view the recordings.

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Missed our Thrips Identification Workshop? “How-to” Videos are Now Available Online!

*Characteristics needed to identify thrips to species.*

Although greenhouse growers’ thoughts in late summer tend to turn to pests of poinsettias, thrips are never fully forgotten (being the #1 pest and all).

Ever since a bunch of new thrips began invading North American greenhouses a few years ago, proper thrips identification has become a necessary evil. If you missed our Vineland/OMAFA Thrips Identification Workshops in 2024, have no fear. Ashley Summerfield from the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre has compiled much of the workshop content in a series of easy-to-follow videos. Keep reading for what you’ll need and links to the videos.

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