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Give Your Feedback on the Greenhouse Biosecurity Guide – Nov 16 & 26th

The Canadian Plant Health Council (CPHC), in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, is seeking your input on the National Farm-Level Biosecurity Standard for the Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Sectors , as well as the associated Floriculture Sector Biosecurity Guide . Why is this important? Biosecurity is critical to protecting Canada’s greenhouse, nursery and floriculture sectors from pests, diseases, and other risks that can impact productivity and market access. The current standard and guides were developed almost 10 years ago, and we want to ensure they remain relevant and effective in today’s production environment. What’s available to help you? The CPHC has developed a short overview video that explains the purpose and key elements of the standard. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/HMQx5lUgToQ How can you provide feedback? We invite you to share your thoughts on whether the standard and guides require updating. Feedback can be provi...
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October 2026, DLI Report

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October is historically darker than September, did that continue? Read on to find out more. Only looking for certain information? Use the table of contents to navigate between sections: Summary Background Objectives Materials and Methods DLI Data DLI and PPFD Excel Sheets Contact Us Summary Both Leamington-Kingsville and Vineland received less light in October compared with September of this year with Vineland experiencing 30% less light and Leamington-Kingsville experiencing 7% less light. In contrast, Leamington-Kingsville received 11% more light than Vineland in October. Overall, the average DLI for the month of ­­­­­October for Leamington-Kingsville was 28 moles/m 2 /day. This was 7% lower than October 2025 and 18% less than October 2024, mostly due to significantly lower DLI levels in week 41. The last time the Average DLI was below 30 was in March 2026. The maximum DLI was 39 recorded on October 5th, and the minimum DLI was 6 recorded on October 16 ...
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Spotted Lanternfly Expert Q&A Panel TOMORROW: Register Now

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SLF adults in a net from a detection site in Windsor, Ontario. October 2026. Image credit: L. Des Marteaux Now that Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) has been found in Ontario , and is regulated, it’s more important than ever for growers of ALL horticultural crops to be aware of this pest, it’s host range, restricted areas and the current regulations . We encourage everyone in the Nursery and Greenhouse Sectors to register today for a free Q&A virtual event for SLF. This will be held Tuesday, November 10th at 10am. Click here to register Hosted by the Invasive Species Centre, this webinar will cover the current status of Spotted Lanternfly in Canada and what lies ahead. A panel of experts from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Natural Resources Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agri-business, Landscape Ontario, Brock University, and Pennsylvania State University will respond to questions. Participants may submit questions in advance...
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Mandevilla IPM Program Part 4: Putting Together a Cheaper Spray Program

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Fig. 1. Mandevilla plants showing minimal Parvispinus damage due to effective spray programs in Ontario. Photo by OMAFA. This last post in this series summarizes the strategy behind the spray program for Thrips parvispinus control in mandevilla in Ontario. After several years of refinement to bring down costs while maintaining efficacy, several growers have been using this program, or some version of it, for several years. This program focuses on critical “spray periods” versus weekly spraying, and takes advantage of spot sprays, focusing on sensitive varieties . That we’ve found a successful and economical program in mandevilla is quite an achievement, given the lower number of pesticide available for this pest in Canada versus the U.S ., and the long growth period of the crop (July – April). Read on for how we’ve put this all together through trial and error, and for cost comparisons to more traditional spray programs. Criti...
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September 2026, DLI Report

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Did you notice lower light levels in September in the Vineland and Leamington-Kingsville areas? So did we, so read on to find out more! Only looking for certain information? Use the table of contents to navigate between sections: Summary Background Objectives Materials and Methods DLI Data DLI and PPFD Excel Sheets Contact Us Summary Vineland and Leamington-Kingsville experienced less light in weeks 37 and 38 than the same time last year. Overall, the average DLI for the month of ­­­­­September for Leamington-Kingsville was 30 moles/m 2 /day. This was 32% less than September, 2025 and 23% less than September, 2024. In fact, September 2026 light levels were similar to those in October of last year. The maximum DLI was 53 recorded on September 9 th , and the minimum DLI was 10 recorded on September 21 th . For the first time since we started monitoring light levels in Vineland last year, it received more light than Leamington-Kingsville, 20% more to be ...
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