University of Florida releases new video: Five Tips on Pesticides, Water Quality, and $$$

Water quality expert Dr. Sarah White, Professor and Nursery ExtensionSpecialist from Clemson University, describes how water quality affects pesticide efficacy and the bottom line in this new YouTube video (https://youtu.be/HH7Fo5rLSZM). Do you know how the pH of water in your spray tank affects the effectiveness of pesticides? How can you modify water quality for better […]

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LumiGrow Launches Early Disease Detection Through Partnership with Scanit Technologies

Press Release – Emeryville, California – LumiGrow, a smart horticultural lighting company announced today that they’re launching a new product-line of early disease detection sensors and services.   Their innovative release is set to solve one of the most critical unmet needs in agriculture today. “Our partnership with Scanit Technologies marks a major shift in how […]

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Making the switch to hemp—what should you consider?

Now that it is legal to grow hemp in the U.S., greenhouse vegetable and ornamental plant growers are considering whether it makes sense to switch crops. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly referred to as the 2018 Farm Bill, has legalized the production of hemp. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is the lead USDA […]

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FFAR and Gates Foundation Help Farms Combat Pests, Disease

Press Release – The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) partnered with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the 2019 Grand Challenges Explorations—Tools and Technologies for Broad-Scale Pest and Disease Surveillance of Crop Plants in Low-Income Countries program, which develops tools to improve crop pest and disease surveillance globally. FFAR contributed $300,000, which was matched by The Bill […]

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Ancora Microbial Insecticide — New formulation!

Press Release– OHP announces a key formulation change to its Ancora® Microbial Insecticide, designed to make spray applications easier in a greenhouse and nursery. OMRI listed and approved for organic production, Ancora contains a naturally-occurring fungus that infects both foliar and soil-dwelling pests such as whiteflies, thrips, aphids, leafminers, spider mites, grubs, and other pests. […]

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Edema of Greenhouse Tomatoes and Kale

One of the many challenges of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and kale (Brassica oleracea) greenhouse growers is the management of edema (oedema). Often described as intumescence or enations, edema is an abiotic-induced complication that develops at different levels of intensitydepending on the cultivar and, in some cases, between individual plants. Symptoms Edema is often described […]

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Inner leaf “tip-burn” in lettuce

Published by e-Gro Not all nutritional problems are caused by supplying too much or too little of a certain nutrient. “Tip-burn” of inner leaves is a common problem in hydroponic lettuce, where the margins of the young emerging leaves develop necrosis and burn as shown in Figure 1. The necrosis is from a calcium deficiency, […]

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Managing Basil Downy Mildew in the Greenhouse

Published by e-Gro Downy mildew continues to be the most important disease of basilthroughout most of the USA, affecting plants grown outdoors at farmsand in gardens as well as in greenhouses every year. Widespreadregular occurrence of this devastating disease has clearlydocumented that management is needed to ensure a marketablecrop. Below are some tips for management, […]

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Purdue University hosts the Indiana Horticultural Congress

The Indiana Horticultural Congress is an educational meeting designed to meet the needs of fruit, vegetable, wine, organics, and specialty crop growers and marketers in Indiana and surrounding states. Sessions will focus on climate, insect management and pollinators, biostimulants and much more. Speakers include Dr. Annette Wszelaki from Tennessee, Dr. Lori Hoagland from Purdue and Dr. Matt Ruark […]

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New education grant from the American Floral Endowment helps improve Spanish language access to University of Florida online grower courses

Greenhouse Training Online courses, including Disease Management, offered by University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF) have received a boost with an education grant from the American Floral Endowment (AFE). The four-week courses in English and Spanish are designed for growers or technical managers in the US and other countries, and have been completed by over […]

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BioBee USA and Hort Americas partner to bring growers biologically-based IPM

BioBee Biological Systems, headquartered in Sde Eliyaho, Israel, is at the forefront of implementing biologically-based integrated pest management (IPM) solutions in controlled environment agriculture and open-field production systems. BioBee USA, a subsidiary of BioBee, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., has partnered with horticultural supplier Hort Americas in Bedford, Texas, to work together to educate and provide […]

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Organic pest management is not a one size fits all cure

Originally published in Issue 14 If you want a recipe for how to specifically control insect pests, then you would best be served using conventional chemical pest management. “When you look at things through an organic lens, it’s all about context,” said Michigan State University entomologist Matt Grieshop. “There are options to choose from, but […]

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Making Integrated Pest and Disease Management Work

Originally published in Issue 4 Regardless of whether growers refer to using an integrated pest management (iPM) or integrated pest and disease management (iPDM) program, it won’t be successful if they don’t plan it out. “Ironically, one of the biggest misconceptions greenhouse growers have with controlling pests and diseases is actually related to the success […]

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5 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Greenhouse Operation

While I’m a self-proclaimed, learn-from-my-own-mistakes, kind of gal, I wouldn’t want to test my luck with a commercial greenhouse operation. I’m betting you wouldn’t either. Everyone wants to know what not to do. In part three of our four-part series featuring Fox Greenhouses from Dallas Center, Iowa, Matt Fox humbly shares what you really want […]

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