Welcome to the American Floral Endowment's three-part webinar series for Thrips Research. This series features the latest findings from AFE’s Thrips and Botrytis Research Fund. This session's speaker is Dr. JC Chong, professor and extension specialist of turf and ornamentals entomology at Clemson University. Presentation Description: Insecticide is the main tool for controlling thrips in floriculture in Colombia and the US. This presentation will discuss the efficacy of insecticides registered in the US, some of which are comparable or similar to those registered in Colombia, and approaches in using them with greater efficacy. This presentation will also discuss the risk of insecticide resistance and approaches to mitigate the risk.

Welcome to the American Floral Endowment's three-part webinar series for Thrips Research. This series features the latest findings from AFE’s Thrips and Botrytis Research Fund. This session's speaker is Dr. Rose Buitenhuis, Research Scientist of Biological Control at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Presentation Description: It is possible to manage thrips using biological control as the main component of your IPM strategy. Growers in Canada have fine-tuned this system and are successfully dealing with pesticide-resistant thrips. Can any of these strategies be used in Colombia? This presentation will discuss the similarities and differences between the floriculture greenhouse sectors in these two countries, the tools that are available, and how to take the first steps towards a biocontrol based IPM strategy.

Welcome to the American Floral Endowment's three-part webinar series for Thrips Research. This series features the latest findings from AFE’s Thrips and Botrytis Research Fund. This session's speaker is Dr. Rose Buitenhuis, Research Scientist of Biological Control at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Presentation Description: Thrips are the number one pest of floriculture crops worldwide. They are the most common pest, the pest that causes the most losses, and the most difficult to control. This presentation will explain why thrips are such a challenge, and how you can use this knowledge to design an integrated pest management program that will work for you.

Welcome to the American Floral Endowment's three-part webinar series for Botrytis Research. This series features the latest findings from AFE’s Thrips and Botrytis Research Fund. This session's speaker is Dr. Jim Faust, Associate Professor of Floriculture Physiology at Clemson University. Topics covered: -Testing for fungicide resistance - Interpreting and using the results - Understanding different types of fungicides (multi v. single-site) - Understanding FRACs - Making fungicide decisions

Welcome to the American Floral Endowment's three-part webinar series for Botrytis Research. This series features the latest findings from AFE’s Thrips and Botrytis Research Fund. Topics covered: - What conditions does Botrytis need to infect flowers? - Where to look for botrytis in the greenhouses (primary sources of inoculum) - Identifying Botrytis symptoms vs. other sources of spots - Where and when do spores infect tissues? - Monitoring botrytis with humidity chambers

Over the past year, we have tested 19 biological control agents (BCAs) for their ability to reduce Botrytis infection on petunia. These products include beneficial bacteria and fungi, compounds isolated from bacteria and fungi, plant nutrients, and systemic acquired resistance inducers. Most of the products failed to curb botrytis infections; however, a few products showed significant efficacy against Botrytis blight. One of the best products on petunias is new to floriculture, so it was applied in addition to cut roses in the postharvest environment where it also looked very promising. We will show you the results of all 19 BCAs and will describe how the best ones might fit into your current disease management program.

Growers know from experience that some plants are more attractive to western flower thrips than others. Why not use that to your advantage! Scientists at the UVM Entomology Research Laboratory have found that marigolds are ideal plants as a foundation for a simple, cost-effective, comprehensive IPM program. They can be used as an indicator plant to detect thrips early, often even before they are found on yellow sticky cards. They can also act as a trap crop to lure the pest from the crop. Lastly, they can serve as a guardian plant that does it all: attract thrips from the crop while supporting biological control agents such as predatory mites and insect-killing fungi on the plant and in the soil to maintain low pest populations. Learn more about this amazing, yet easy-to-grow plant so you can take advantage of its many benefits.

Welcome to the American Floral Endowment's three-part webinar series for Botrytis Research. This series features the latest findings from AFE’s Thrips and Botrytis Research Fund. Topics covered: - Scouting & monitoring strategies (summary of Part 1) - Control options - Chemical fungicides (summary of Part 2) - Biological options - Other treatments (calcium) - Pulling it all together - Making decisions on which control options to choose-A hierarchical decision-making approach