March 7, 2018

Greenhouse vegetable IPM update 3.7.18

I’d like to be in a warm steamy greenhouse today! My first greenhouse visit was on Monday – makes me believe spring will come!

Podcast by Jud Reid (and others) on Better Greenhouse Practices  And if you scroll down the list of podcasts there are others that might apply

Vegetable varieties with genetic resistance to insects or diseases –in Vegetable MD Online.  Not specifically aimed at greenhouse production but a good resource that Meg McGrath is keeping up!

Interesting article on the impact of entomopathogenic fungi on natural enemies 

This is pretty cool – on–site molecular detection of soil-borne pathogens. Instant verification of a disease?

In looking for information on trap cropping for cucumber beetles, I found this presentation on biological control of cuke beetles in the field.

 

March 10, 2017

Greenhouse IPM update 3.10.17

Snow again!  And since they removed the Cornus mas from outside my window, I don’t have that friendly reminder of swelling buds to tell me spring is coming.  But it is, I know it IS!

Check those fertilizer injectors!  Who wants to find out they aren’t working by having plants show symptoms – and then trying to figure out why!  Thomas Ford in eGro says from his work “75% of the fertilizer injectors employed by growers in are greenhouses are not working properly”. We’ve already heard of one case in NY. Lots of information here.

Get the key to locking out pests (my, that’s kind of a stretch but it is Friday).  Leeane Pundt at UConn has a great post on key plants and key pests to help you inspect new plant material coming in and scouting it once it’s in your greenhouse.

Another on scouting guidelines and biocontrol options for the most common insects and diseases found in greenhouse crops.

And since a picture is worth a thousand words…illustrated scouting tips for lots of crops
Ornamental crops
Vegetable bedding plants
Herb bedding plants
Herbaceous perennials
Identifying pests and beneficials on sticky cards
Go UConn!

Think (no) thrips!  UMass’ post on reviewing thrips biocontrol 

Webinars and more webinars…
Our series on high tunnel and greenhouse vegetable IPM continues to grow.  The most recent one was just posted!

OMAFRA’s greenhouse vegetable IPM specialist on Heating, Lighting and IPM
March 30, 2017
Using biofungicides, biostimulants, and biofertilizers to boost crop productivity and help manage vegetable diseases – not just greenhouse but perhaps still useful!

Bees are still in the news!  One study from England I read said that most varieties surveyed in garden centers were unattractive to pollinators (actually measuring the number of visits by pollinators at the garden center itself).  While still low, those with some notation as being friendly to bees had 4x as many visits.  Hopefully this listing would fare better –  Bee friendly trees and shrubs

Yes, but can they learn to dust?  Bees are smarter than we thought – or else maybe they are training us.  Hmmm….

Courage in the face of cold!  It will be warm again!

February 17, 2017

Greenhouse IPM update 2.17.17

The sun is shining in my office window, which makes me want to head home. But I’ll stick around long enough to send this off to you (and hope you find time to get out in the sun, too)

I gave a talk on biopesticides so guess what? I have information on biopesticides for you!

Looking for biopesticides that are appropriate for a particular problem – heck, even if you are just looking for pesticides for a particular problem? IR4 has a cool labels database which includes efficacy data so you can compare! Its got a good search page and links to labels, even tells you if it is acceptable for organic production. I LOVE it when people make my job easier!

Spear and Spear T are biological insecticides – based on spider peptides no less (Charlotte! Who knew!) – newly registered for NYS. Spear is registered for ornamentals, edible, and turf (a variety of Lepidoptera and thrips). Spear T is labeled for thrips management in greenhouses. If you’ve tried them, I’d like to hear about efficacy.  To find NYS labels go to  NYS PAD and look under Names – Spear and Registrant – Vestaron.

Apps, apps and more apps. Of course, my favorite is my own and you can watch me talk about it at a Horticulture seminar  (January 30 blog post) It is called Greenhouse Scout and is available on Apple and Android.

19 for Nurseries! And other plant geeks.

Greenhouse Grower’s App (only for Apple smart devices) – a set of 12 production calculators and a free Lite version of 5 of them). It is from Australia so the measurements are in different units.

Now that you are (or are thinking about) warming up your greenhouses for the spring crop, don’t assume that the cold weather killed off all the insect pests. They are diabolically clever at surviving (remember some of them survive outside in the winter, too). A great article from UMass with additional resources to convince you.  Want to know what’s popping out before the plants go in? Hang sticky cards under the benches if there is enough soil on the floor for fungus gnats and thrips to survive in, or near where pests might come in to the greenhouse and see what you catch.

I’ve heard one report so far of broad mite (admittedly not in NY but they like it here, too) so here’s Dan Gilrein’s broad mite post from e-Gro. There are other posts on the topic there, too – just Google e-Gro and broad mite and they will pop up, just like broad mites)

Aphids will tolerate cooler temperatures than some pests so we have seen aphids happily going about their unfortunate business in overwintered perennials in tunnels in late winter (is it late winter yet?). And heard anecdotally that people have successfully used ladybugs to control them. So, an article from Suzanne Wainwright-Evans (the BugLady) on using wild collected ladybugs  (Don’t even think about it!)

Enough for one post! But lots more to come.

March 22, 2016

Greenhouse IPM Update 3.9.16

Back in the saddle again!  I think there are about 5 partial updates on my computer.  But I promise not to send them all at once.  This should keep you out of trouble for a while!

Rain predicted for tomorrow so it’s a good time to talk about humidity.  Which Premier Tech kindly did for us, through Horti-Daily.  They didn’t mention pest management (Hey!) but you know that it has an effect.  Can we all say together: Botrytis!

Things to keep on your calendar – The Greenhouse Canada Grower Day June 15 in Niagara Falls.  The topic this year is Whiteflies – with some great speakers and interesting ideas.

Five wasps in one!  Koppert is unveiling a new mix of 5 parasitic wasps to manage aphids – especially to find the earliest infestations.  Not available in the US yet – but maybe?
Turns out Bioline has a 3 in 1 aphid wasp mix.  Has anyone tried it and is it better than just 2?

Do you use Met 52?  Monsanto BioAg says it will keep producing it but it won’t be available from Feb – Oct 2016.
Pit bull bees – that can bite the legs off the varroa mites that plague them! Breeding better bees

What’s in your water (sorry American Express)?  Do you know? And does it affect sanitation?

Well, this just looks like fun! A roof cleaner for greenhouses – but will it work on kitchen floors?
Pest management from the comfort of your couch?  It sounds like they are trying to get there. An automated pest monitoring system!

Growing vegetables on a cruise ship. Does the grower get to go along?

Koppert has an IPM app.  Has anyone tried it?

Poinsettias as landscape plants . In NYS?

Enjoy our mini-spring – and keep your fingers crossed.  Winter aconite and snowdrops and crocuses out!

Have a great week!