Plant Health

Chat Room — July 2023

This month, we asked you, our readers, about greenhouse sanitation practices, pest and pathogen issues, and growing shrubs and perennials. Do you have a question you want us to ask? Contact managing editor, Heather Machovina,... more »

Is Your greenhouse really clean?

Maintaining a clean greenhouse can mean the difference between growing a high-quality, profitable crop and scrambling to reduce losses from pathogens and pests. Here are five steps that can help you lower your chances of... more »

The pitchfork method

Often when growers and integrated pest management (IPM) managers are thinking and speaking of controlling pests with traditional pesticides, we think of product X being used for pest problem Z. This is also often the... more »

Duets: Biostimulants — Learning to leverage the biological world

My guest today is Allison Jack, Ph.D., product technical director at NewLeaf Symbiotics based in St. Louis, Missouri. Allison earned her undergraduate degree at Reed College in Oregon, working... more »

Electronic plant patch offers early plant disease detection

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an electronic patch that can be applied to the leaves of plants to monitor crops for different pathogens – such as viral and fungal infections – and... more »

Growing media 101

All growing media are not created equal. Water holding capacity, nutrient contents, and important considerations like pH and electrical conductivity (EC) will vary. It’s also important to consider the full list of contents within a... more »

Dr. Bugs: Anthranilic diamide insecticides

Answer: Insecticides in the IRAC group 28 are referred to as anthranilic diamides. There are three IRAC group 28 insecticides labeled for use in greenhouse... more »

Desktop diagnostics

There are no silver bullets or magic wands in plant production or pest management, but we have a wealth of information at our fingertips and a catalog of products from which to choose. To get... more »