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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2017 Update: 4 Ways You May Be Killing Your Predatory Mites, and How to Check!

PowerPoint Presentation Note: This is a re-post but contains important information on use of DDVP (dichlorvos) with mite sachets. (See point 4!)

In 2017, I had an interaction with a grower where their long-standing biocontrol program for thrips suddenly seemed to be failing. After a (too long) investigation by myself, the grower, and consultants, we found out the horrible truth: their predatory mites were being MURDERED (Duh dun DUHNNN!)… By improper storage.

This post focuses on all the ways YOU might also be guilty of mite murder, and how to make sure your mites are still alive and kicking in those little sachets.

(And yes, I’ve stooped to the level of click-bait titles).

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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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Lassoing Loopers: why you NEED to care about caterpillar control

tomato looper 2_Steve hatch — **Know which looper species this is? Are you SURE? If not, keep reading, as some species could get your shipments detained at the border.** Photo: Steve Hatch, Bugwood.org.

With spring crops behind us and summer approaching, most of you are probably concentrating on the Big 3: thrips, aphids and whitefly. But recent alerts put out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), bring a new emphasis to caterpillar control. Read on to understand what’s happening, how to control occasional pests like cabbage looper, and avoid potential issues at the border.

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Using Beleaf (flonicamid) as a drench: benefits and (potential) drawbacks.

gi_0_beleaf Given that it’s the season for pest problems like aphids on spring crops, I’d like to remind everyone of an important new pest management tool we have at our disposal.

Thanks to the hard work of Cary Gates at Flowers Canada Growers, and OMAFRA’s Jim Chaput, Beleaf (flonicamid) can now be used as a drench on greenhouse-grown ornamentals and cut flowers.

Read on for more details regarding the expanded label and potential phytoxicity issues.

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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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Accessing Info on GH Floriculture Pesticides Quickly and Easily

An snapshot of Health Canada’s new Pesticide Labels App for Droid or Apple phones.

Ever needed just to quickly look up a rate for a particular pesticide, or see if it’s compatible with your bio program, only to get lost on Google or get frustrated by the numerous tables in Pub 370? Well, me too.

Read on for resources to make accessing pesticide information quicker and easier for Ontario’s floriculture sector.

These include a new mobile app for ALL registered pesticides, as well as a downloadable spreadsheet you can tailor to your needs.

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4 Ways You’re Accidentally Killing Your Predatory Mites!

PowerPoint Presentation NOTE: This is a re-post because it now comes with an awesome new video of how to monitor you mite sachets!

Recently, I had an interaction with a grower where their long-standing biocontrol program for thrips suddenly seemed to be failing. After a (too long) investigation by myself, the grower, and several consultants, we found out the horrible truth: their predatory mite were being MURDERED (Duh dun DUHNNN!)… By improper storage.

This post focuses on whether YOU might also be guilty of mite murder. (And yes, I’ve stooped to the level of click-bait titles).

Special thanks to Graeme Murphy (BioLogical Consulting) Dave Neal (Koppert), Rose Buitenhuis (Vineland Research and Innovation Centre) and especially Ronald Valentin (BioWorks) for all their knowledge that went into this post!

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Leafminer control in Ontario’s greenhouse crops -what’s working?

As much as we all hate thrips, there are, frankly, worse problems to have. And it’s name is Leafminer. These flies cause just about the ugliest damage we see in floriculture (Fig. 1), and they have incredible pesticide-resistance capabilities. Outbreaks seem to go in cycles, and I’ve had quite a few gerbera and mum crops come across my desk with leafminer this past 2 weeks.

This post covers chemical options (BawHawHawHa!!! Oh… Sorry… I’ll get myself under control now) and non-chemical options for leafminer, as well as how their control fits into the big picture in greenhouse IPM programs.

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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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