The New Era of Pesticides in Canada: Cancellations, Re-evaluations, and New Products

pesticide pic — Changes will soon be coming to some of the chemical products you rely on most.

It seems there is never a dull moment in the greenhouse ornamental industry these days. From transitions to new crops, new export requirements, to novel pest problems, the industry has seen a lot of change….and it’s not over yet.

The industry is also going to be facing changes regarding some commonly used chemical products. Here is the latest on potential revisions to the list of chemical tools we have access to in Canadian floriculture.

This is guest post was written by Cary Gates, Pest Management Director at Flowers Canada Growers.

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Fainting “Freedom Red”? Wilting “Whitestar”? Potential causes of Poinsettia collapse, solutions, and the importance of testing.

Wilting of a poinsettia plant on a bench of otherwise healthy plants could be Pythium root rot. But then again, it might not…

From now until mid-November is when you’ll most likely see plant losses in poinsettia due to severe wilting. These losses can be considerable: anywhere from 2-15% in Niagara operations in past years, with disease pressure seeming especially high this year.

Pythium may be considered the most “likely” culprit in Poinsettia in this area, but this isn’t always the case, and misdiagnosis can mean wasted fungicide applications. Read on for a list of likely suspects and appropriate control measures.

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Managing Million Bells, 2017 Updates

Image result for calibrachoa plugs — Rooted Calibrachoa plugs. Photo from jparkers.co.uk

It’s that time of year again, when unrooted cuttings or rooted plug trays of Million Bells (Calibrachoa) are first arriving in the greenhouse.

When they go right, Calibrachoa are a relatively easy, staple spring crop. However, when million bells go bad, they go bad BIG time.

To help your crop turn out this year, Chevonne and I have compiled some info on how to prevent and deal with common issues in Callies.

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