savage garden

This post written by Jessie deHaan (M.Sc.), Research Technician in the Biocontrol Lab at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Recent collaborative research from Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agri-Business (OMAFA), Agriculture & Agri Food Canada (AAFC), and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) has helped reveal some key components of Thrips parvispinus ecology and behaviour. This has helped us to develop monitoring approaches for this pest in greenhouse floriculture , and is helping to point us towards optimized control strategies. This research was covered in a recent webinar hosted by Flowers Canada Growers (linked to in the post below). But if you’d rather read than watch, t his post summarizes our findings! Why Study Pest Behaviour? Professional athletes study their opponent’s match videos to learn about them and anticipate their moves; chess players and strategy game enthusiasts play to their opponent’s stren...

Do you know someone making an impact in Ontario’s agri-food sector? Nominations are now open for the 2026 Excellence in Agriculture Awards! These awards recognize the individuals and organizations that are driving excellence, sustainability and long-term competitiveness in Ontario’s $53 billion agri-food industry . Ontario’s agriculture and food industry is full of exceptional people, businesses and organizations driving innovation, sustainability and leadership. With 10 award categories including Youth, Women’s Farming Excellence, and Family Farm Excellence, there are many opportunities to recognize yourself, your organization, or someone you know. If you know someone making a difference, or if that someone is you, nominate them today!  Applicants and nominees must demonstrate how they have met at least 1 of the priority agriculture excellence outcomes: strengthening Ontario’s agriculture and food supply chain; attracting, growing and retaining Ontari...

Figure 1. Picture by Julie Jocsak (St. Catharines Standard) Welcome to the Vineland DLI report for July 2026. What a month it has been with lingering smoke from wildfires up in Northern Ontario and hurricane’s worth of rain in the Niagara region! How will these weather events effect the DLI levels from this past month? Read on to find out more! In July 2026, Vineland received 4% more than in June 2026. Read more : July, 2026 DLI Report Only looking for certain information? Use the table of contents to navigate between sections: Data Summary – Vineland & Leamington Monthly Radio Report Background Objectives Materials and Methods DLI Data Data Summary – Vineland & Leamington DLI data were available for most of July for Vineland. The average DLI for the month of July for Vineland was 51 moles/m 2 /day. The maximum DLI was 68.3 recorded on July 12th, and the minimum DLI was 15.4 recorded on July 15th. DLI data were available for the second an...

Want to brush up on your biosecurity awareness, so you can help PREVENT pests from entering your greenhouse BEFORE they become a problem? Need a certificate to demonstrate you’re building your IPM learning for career advancement? Then these FREE courses from the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) might be for you. Read on for more details. What Free Greenhouse, Nursery & Floriculture Biosecurity Webinars : Greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture growers are invited to join this free, two-part Zoom webinar series. Participants will learn practical biosecurity practices to help reduce risk and protect plant health, receive a Greenhouse Biosecurity Workbook to support the development of a biosecurity plan, and learn about potential cost-share opportunities. Attendance at both sessions is required to receive a Certificate of Completion. When Upcoming sessions : August 13 and 20, 2026 | 7:00–9:00 p.m. Register: http...

Kendra van der Wier positioning a mass trapping card with a thrips lure. Photo by OMAFA. This post was written by Kendra van der Wier, Greenhouse Floriculture Summer Research Student for OMAFA. Parts 1&2, written by Dr. Sarah Jandricic, covered why to trap and when , as well as ways to improve mass trapping by choosing the right colour and placement . This post covers my summer research project looking into the utility of thrips lures. What kinds of lures are there, and do they work on multiple thrips species? And are they worth the extra expense? This post helps answer these questions for 2 common pest thrips species – western flower thrips and onion thrips . Stay tuned for more work on lures for mass trapping Thrips parvispinus, another aspect of my research project. Inside This Post: Inside This Post: Different Types of Lures for Thrips Do Lures Work? How Well? Results – 2024 Lure Trials for Western Flower Thrips Results – 2026...