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.”
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!)”Since it was first discovered in Ontario greenhouses in 2022, growers, IPM specialists, consultants, and technical reps have been joining forces to learn everything we can about what works – and what doesn’t – for this pest of tropical ornamentals.
Join us for a GrowON webinar next Monday on real-world solutions for this pest from “boots on the ground” folks who’ve been working with this pest for 2 years in commercial operations in Ontario. Crops covered include mandevilla/diplodenia, hoya, anthurium and a few others.
Continue reading “Upcoming GrowON Webinar: “A Pain in the Parvi” – Progress on Thrips parvipsinus IPM”
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”
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.”
Although the invasive pest Thrips parvispinus continues to threaten tropical ornamental crops, the good news is that the sky isn’t falling. Producing crops like mandevilla, schefflera and hoya is still possible, at least in a closed greenhouse setting.
Although developing a reliable biological control program for this pest is probably a few years off, a suite of pesticides is available in the U.S. and Canada to successfully manage T. parvispinus.
This post covers these pesticides, their relative efficacy and demonstrates outcomes when used in an 8 month on-farm trial in mandevilla.
Continue reading “Pesticides for Parvispinus: Results of an On-Farm Trial”
Join us for a GrowON webinar tomorrow (Tuesday May 30th) on potential solutions for Thrips parvisipinus from “boots on the ground” folks. This includes technical reps, industry consultants, and extension specialists.
Read on for more information and how to register.
Continue reading “REMINDER: “Potential Solutions for Parvispinus” Webinar TOMORROW!”Webinars on Thrips parvispinus are coming fast and hard lately, as scientists and extension agents try to get you the very latest information on this serious pest of ornamentals and peppers.
Join us for a GrowON webinar next Tuesday on potential solutions for this pest from “boots on the ground” folks. This includes technical reps, industry consultants, an your friendly neighborhood extension specialist in Ontario.
Read on for more information and how to register.
Continue reading “Upcoming GrowON Webinar on May 30th! “Potential Solutions for Parvispinus: Lessons from the Field””Sorry for the short notice folks, but even sometimes I’m out of the loop! There are two upcoming webinars on Thrips parvispinus, the new invasive thrips that is a serious pest of tropical ornamentals and pepper crops.
The first is by the University of Florida Extension folks, and should be a great update on what’s happening at the source. That webinar is TOMORROW (May 4) at 10am-12pm ET, so hopefully you see this in time! Hopefully it will be recorded for those that miss it.
The next webinar is on May 10th, and is being put on jointly by the Horticultural Research Institute, AmericanHort, the Canadian Nursery & Landscape Association, and American Floral Endowment.
For more details on these webinars and how to register, keep reading.
Continue reading “Webinars on Thrips parvispinus TOMORROW and May 10th!”
I’ve written about the tropical pest Thrips parvispinus, now being called “pepper thrips”, infesting certain tropical ornamentals in Canada before. But it appears this pest has become widespread in Florida.
As Ontario sources much of its plant material from Florida, it’s a good idea to exercise caution, even on non-tropical plants. The known host range of this pest is evolving, and thrips have the potential to hitch-hike on less-preferred plant hosts and spread to more preferred hosts in your greenhouse.
Read on for information on the situation in Florida and what you can do to help protect your greenhouse from this pest.
Continue reading “Thrips parvispinus (“Pepper Thrips”): The Importance of Inspecting Plants and Dipping Cuttings from Florida”