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”
A new pesticide is available for greenhouse ornamental production in Canada that has shown potential for effective suppression of difficult-to-control thrips and whitefly species.
It’s that time of year again where it’s “do or die” time in Poinsettia: either your biocontrol program is on track, or it’s time to see if pesticides work.
As suspected, it’s turned out to be a heck of year for Poinsettia. Many growers faced Erwinia, others had rooting issues, and all faced significant pressure from Bemisia whitefly from infested cuttings.