It’s that time of year again, when problems early in the crop may have caught up with you. This includes root rots, Lewis mite, and Bemisia whitefly.
Now, you’ll be forced to make a choice with your poinsettia crop. Do you stay the course with a biocontrol program? Or spray for pests? And, as always, the question is “spray with WHAT”?
This post has tips on pest management decision making when it comes to common poinsettia problems in October.
It’s that time of year again where you have to make a choice with your poinsettia. Do you stay the course with natural enemies, or abandon your bio program and spray for whitefly? And spray with WHAT?
This post has tips on how to test pesticides NOW, so that when it comes down to the wire, you’ll know what is – and isn’t – working.
Continue reading “The Whitefly “Tipping Point”and Testing Pesticides in Poinsettia”
It’s that time of year again where you have to make a choice with your poinsettia. Do you stay the course with natural enemies, or abandon your bio program and spray for whitefly? And spray with WHAT?
This post has tips on how to test pesticides NOW, so that when it comes down to the wire, you’ll know what is – and isn’t – working.
Continue reading “Poinsettia Problems 2020: The “Tipping Point”and Testing Pesticides”
It’s that time of year again where two of our biggest crops cross over: fall pot mums and poinsettia. This means growers have to simultaneously keep an eye on the two biggest pests in the industry: thrips (usually western flower thrips) and Bemisia whitefly.
Here’s how things are shaping up with these pests and where they might be going.
Continue reading “What you NEED TO KNOW about Thrips and Whitefly Control: September Update”
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.
As the time approaches for the plants to go out the door, this post covers whitefly control successes/failures in 2018, and what to do with remaining populations.
Whitefly and other poinsettia issues are also being discussed at the Niagara Poinsettia Open House on Tuesday, November 20th. This will take place at Jefferys Greenhouse (Plant II) starting at 10 am. See the latest issue of Greenhouse Canada Magazine for more information (pg. 28). Hope to see many of you there.
Continue reading “2018 Poinsettia Wrap Up: Whitefly and Pesticides”
If you started out using biological control in your Poinsettia crop this year, you’ve now reached the crucial tipping point for whitefly control decisions.
Based on the size of your whitefly population in mid-late September, your populations could end up too high by November to effectively control. Ultimately, this could affect sales.
So, do you keep going, and hope for the best? Or switch horses mid-stream, and start using chemicals? To help you determine which is the right call, keep reading.
Continue reading “The “Tipping Point” for Whitefly Control in Poinsettia”
The floriculture industry in Ontario seems to have mostly avoided heavy aphid AND thrips pressure this spring/summer. But from everything I’ve been hearing, we are NOT going to be that lucky with whitefly on poinsettia this year.
This post goes over preventative measures that should be taken as soon as cuttings come in the door, biocontrol programs for whitefly on poinsettia, and WHEN and WHAT to spray for this so you can avoid resistance issues.
Continue reading “Worried About Whitefly? Control Strategies in Poinsettia for 2018.”
Poinsettias cuttings are here! Unfortunately, they will likely arrive with unwanted “presents” in tow. This includes Bemisia whitefly, a pest that can be hard to control with natural enemies and can ALSO be resistant to pesticides. So what’s a grower to do?
By implementing some preventative measures RIGHT NOW, and understanding WHEN it’s appropriate to spray, you can help save yourself a lot of headaches later.