Category: IPM Strategies

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.

Continue reading “IPM in Mandevilla: Part 3 – Reducing Costs in Early Production.” →

Rose Export Rules to the U.S. – CORRECTION

In a post that went up on Tues this week, I erroneously stated that an Additional Declaration was required for roses being exported to the U.S. from Canada. Please note that you do NOT need an A.D. under the GCP program for roses. It is up to each country to determine if RS R3bv2 is present.

Additionally, a specific pest module for RS R3bv2 is NOT required under the Greenhouse Certification Program (GCP), as roses are asymptomatic for this disease. You can read the UDSDA-APHIS and CFIA notification surrounding this issue here.

Read on for the full blog post about RS R3bv2 and the new export regulations that came into effect in May 2026.

Continue reading “Rose Export Rules to the U.S. – CORRECTION” →

Growing Roses? Export Rules to the U.S. Have Changed – September 2026 UPDATE

In the efforts to prevent a quarantinable strain of Ralstonia from entering the United States, USDA-APHIS has changed importation rules for rose material for planting. This includes rose material coming from Canada. Under the new federal order, roses (Rosa spp.) grown in Canada must now have been grown entirely within Canada or the U.S.. This includes root stock and graft material.

This is to reduce a potential pathway for Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 biovar 2 (Rs R3bv2) into the U.S., which can devastate solanaceous crops such as potato and tomato, as well as geraniums.

Note that as of September 16th 2026, UDSDA-APHIS and CFIA have released a notification that a specific pest module for RS R3bv2 is NOT required under the Greenhouse Certification Program (GCP), as roses are asymptomatic for this disease. Similarly, an Additional Declaration (AD) is NOT required by facilities under the GCP program. It is up to each country to determine if RS R3bv2 is present.

Read on for more details about RS R3bv2 and the new export regulations that came into effect in May 2026.

Continue reading “Growing Roses? Export Rules to the U.S. Have Changed – September 2026 UPDATE” →

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!

Continue reading “Thrips parvispinus: Know Thy Enemy‘s Behaviour” →

Upcoming Greenhouse Biosecurity Courses in Aug., Sept. and Oct.!

Want to brush up on your biosecurity awareness, so you can help PREVENT pests from entering your greenhouse BEFORE they become a problem?

Need a certificate to demonstrate you’re building your IPM learning for career advancement?

Then these FREE courses from the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) might be for you. Read on for more details.

Continue reading “Upcoming Greenhouse Biosecurity Courses in Aug., Sept. and Oct.!” →

Effective Mass Trapping For Summer Thrips, Part 3: Should You Add Lures?

Kendra van der Wier positioning a mass trapping card with a thrips lure. Photo by OMAFA.

This post was written by Kendra van der Wier, Greenhouse Floriculture Summer Research Student for OMAFA.

Parts 1&2, written by Dr. Sarah Jandricic, covered why to trap and when, as well as ways to improve mass trapping by choosing the right colour and placement.

This post covers my summer research project looking into the utility of thrips lures. What kinds of lures are there, and do they work on multiple thrips species? And are they worth the extra expense?

This post helps answer these questions for 2 common pest thrips species – western flower thrips and onion thrips.

Stay tuned for more work on lures for mass trapping Thrips parvispinus, another aspect of my research project.

Continue reading “Effective Mass Trapping For Summer Thrips, Part 3: Should You Add Lures?” →

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!

Continue reading “Dip, cool or steam? Clean Start treatments for Thrips parvispinus” →

Effective Mass Trapping For Summer Thrips, Part 2: Colour, Placement and Duration

Yellow or blue – that is the question. Photo by A. Summerfield.

Part 1 last week covered WHY to trap and WHEN to it’s best to put up your cards. This post goes over trap colour and placement to optimize thrips catches while reducing effects on natural enemies.

Although I’ve talked about this in older posts, I’ve put this data in context of what we know now, in terms of the various thrips species that invade Niagara greenhouses. I’ll also be sharing some data on card duration.

If that isn’t exciting enough for you, next week’s Part 3 will discuss whether or not using lures is worth it to increase thrips catches.

Continue reading “Effective Mass Trapping For Summer Thrips, Part 2: Colour, Placement and Duration” →

Mass Trapping For Summer Thrips, Part 1: Why Trap and When to Start (Answer: This Week!)

Sometimes your thrips biocontrol program is working great. Other times, it seems to get completely overwhelmed.  Thrips can get out of control in Summer, when fall crop production is ramping up. This is where mass trapping can really help.

This post will cover where thrips come from, which species we find on cards, and when the best time is to add mass trapping to your thrips IPM program.

And stay tuned for Part 2, which will cover ways to optimize your mass trapping!

Continue reading “Mass Trapping For Summer Thrips, Part 1: Why Trap and When to Start (Answer: This Week!)” →

Growing Roses? Export Rules to the U.S. Have Changed.

In the efforts to prevent a quarantinable strain of Ralstonia from entering the United States, USDA-APHIS has changed importation rules for rose material for planting. This includes rose material coming from Canada.

Under the new federal order, roses (Rosa spp.) grown in Canada must now have been grown entirely within Canada or the U.S.. This includes root stock and graft material.

This is to reduce a potential pathway for Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 biovar 2 (Rs R3bv2) into the U.S., which can devastate solanaceous crops such as potato and tomato, as well as geraniums.

Read on for more details about RS R3bv2 and the new export regulations.

Continue reading “Growing Roses? Export Rules to the U.S. Have Changed.” →