Biocontrols

Creating a standing army: Supplemental foods for predators

Ephestia eggs could help maintain populations of generalist predators such as Orius

For greenhouse operators, managing crop pests can be both time-consuming and costly, with expenses ranging from thousands to millions of dollars annually. In particular, the need to apply specialist biocontrol agents on a regular basis just to manage a couple of targeted pest species has growers yearning for more cost-effective alternatives.

Making the most of your predatory mites

Mites don’t have the best reputation when it comes to the general public but growers pay thousands of dollars every year to get them into their greenhouses. In fact, most of the greenhouse crops grown in Canada are produced with the help of these very small organisms.

Timely tip: Assessing whitefly pressure in poinsettia

If you started out using biological control for whitefly in your poinsettia crop this year, you’ve now reached a crucial tipping point. Based on the size of your Bemisia whitefly population in mid-late September, your populations could end up being too high by November to effectively bring under control. Ultimately, this could affect sales.

Moving forward with preventative strategies

Fig. 1. Model to illustrate how a clean start and optimized plant nutrition can reduce pest population development, as compared to conventional methods.

Every IPM strategy emphasizes prevention. This includes starting clean and maintaining a resilient pest management program thereafter. The basic principles to achieve this are minimizing pest entry, maximizing plant resistance and using biocontrol to manage the residual pest populations.

Tips on cutting dips

The countdown to Grower Day 2019 is on! Last year, Dr. Rose Buitenhuis of Vineland Research and Innovation Centre talked ornamental cutting dips. What are some key steps to a successful dip?

Biocontrol thriving in Canadian floriculture greenhouses

Biocontrol use for insect and mite pests rose to 92 per cent, as reported in a 2018 survey.

It has been four years since we last surveyed floriculture growers, and in that time, there have been some big changes in the way Canadian growers are using biocontrol.

Friends with benefits: Biopesticides and biostimulants

FIGURE 1. Gliocladium catenulatum (active in Prestop) parasitizing a fungal strand of Rhizoctonia solani.

As a grower, it’s important to think about ways in which your biocontrol programs can be strengthened. There is an increasing number of biopesticides and a staggering array of biostimulants available on the market.

Help wanted! The case for new biocontrol agents

Macrolophus pygmaeus. This generalist predator feeds on a wide range of pest species and now underpins biocontrol programs in many European vegetable greenhouses.

Greenhouse production in Canada is growing and evolving. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers have traditionally been the primary crops grown in Canadian vegetable greenhouses, while the floriculture sector has been producing a wide range of potted plants, bedding plants and cut flowers.

All the right ways to apply microbial biopesticides

Biopesticides are compatible with most biocontrol agents, such as predatory mites, which are widely used in greenhouse ornamentals.

Let’s face it, chemicals have been around for some time now, and have allowed us to successfully manage pests through each growing season. But it’s telling, that we still have to battle the same suite of pests and diseases in greenhouse crops, only now these are resistant to many of the chemicals that have been used against them.

The economics of biocontrol

Biologically based pest management technologies are being widely accepted because of their potential to beneficially exploit pest systems with little to no probability of harmful effects on human health and the environment.

Banking on bankers: Rearing the next generations of beneficials

Banker plant systems at the ends of some rows at Orangeline Farms. Pictured here (from left to right) are: mullein, ‘Purple flash’ ornamental pepper and the cereal banker plant system.

Walking into the Orangeline Farms greenhouse, you’ll notice a myriad of purple and green foliage at the ends of some rows. But they’re not any one of the 20 different bell pepper varieties that the greenhouse operation grows.

Can parasitic wasps effectively kill the pepper weevil?

The pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii is one of the most important pests of pepper crops in North America. Currently, there are no commercial products that can target immature stages of the pepper weevil, however strategies including biological control, may be useful in attacking these life stages and reducing population levels.

Friendly but deadly: Getting to know your mycoinsecticides

Whitefly pests of greenhouse crops are a susceptible target for mycoinsecticides.

Insect pests don’t always die by flipping over with six legs in the air. In nature, the process is sometimes an inescapable decline due to an overwhelming infection, followed by loss of appetite, disinterest in reproduction, lethargy, and then death. Science has learned to isolate, select and mass-produce some of these infectious microbes.

Understanding Ervi: Tips for successful foxglove aphid control

When we started our project to develop a more effective IPM strategy against foxglove aphids, one of the first questions we tried answering was “Why doesn’t Aphidius ervi provide good control?” Growers and IPM specialists have previously reported that this aphid parasitoid does not seem to be effective in controlling the relatively “new” aphid pest - foxglove aphid.