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Edible Alerts

Vol 7 (2018)

Vol 6 (2017)

Vol 5 (2016)

Vol 4 (2015)

Vol 3 (2014)

Vol 2 (2013)

Vol 1 (2012)

eGRO Alerts

Since February 2012, some of the most respected horticultural authorities have been producing easily accessible pdf informative news alerts that let growers know of insect, disease, nutritional, environmental, or physiological growth situations that are occurring, making sure growers know what to be on the look out for every growing season.

 

Volume 7 (2018)      

Vol 7.37 - Potting Media Dilemmas & Small-Scale Growers
When growers look back on a successful spring season they often can attribute their success to their employees, their pe...

Vol 7.36 - Are Recent Rains Holding Up Your Bedding Crops? Time To Consider Fungicidal Treatments!
Quite a few greenhouse producers wind up holding these contracted plants outdoors, or plants are stored in holding areas...

Vol 7.34 - Bio-insecticides in Greenhouse Ornamentals
In this article, we examine several types of bio-insecticides—bio-pesticides used to control insect pests—in commercial ...

Vol 7.33 - Dealing with salty irrigation water
A number of growers have reported problems this spring related to irrigation water quality, particularly issues with hig...

Vol 7.32 - Spring Fling
Over the past few weeks I’ve spoken with growers who have had to discard plants due to pest damage, infestation, and...

Vol 7.31 - Sanitation: Start clean, stay clean!
Proper sanitation can help us prevent disease, spread pests, and safety hazards. ...

Vol 7.30 - Annual Aster: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
 This Alert describes and provides photos of symptoms caused by tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) on annual asters. To di...

Vol 7.29 - Biocontrol is Not for the Impatient Grower
As we moved into the 21st century we knew that there had to be a better way to manage pests as pesticide resistance conc...

Vol 7.28 - Powdery Mildew on Crassula
Powdery mildew is often one of the easiest plant diseases to identify. The light colored fungal growth is usually easy t...

Vol 7.27 - Lower Leaf Interveinal Chlorosis: A Pictorial Guide When Magnesium is Limited
Magnesium (Mg) is sometimes a forgotten element. In many areas of North America, adequate Mg is available in the groundw...

Vol 7.26 - Weathering a Late Spring
When inclement weather causes scheduling issues and production delays, consider these strategies to keep plants and peop...

Vol 7.25 - Greenhouse Growers, Are You Ready for Thrips?
As greenhouse producers are preparing for spring and flowers become more numerous, it is time to get ready for those dre...

Vol 7.24 - Vapor Pressure Deficit? Why Should I Track that?
With modern greenhouse temperature controls and glazing we can do a pretty good job protecting our plants from the extre...

Vol 7.23 - Bacterial Leaf Spot and Blight on Begonia
Growing Begonias? You should always be on the lookout for bacterial leaf spot and blight, caused by Xanthomonas axonopod...

Vol 7.22 - New Guinea Impatiens: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
This Alert describes and provides photos of Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) on New Guinea impatiens. To confirm INS...

Vol 7.21 - The Art and Science of Watering Greenhouse Crops
As the greenhouse fills up with plants, its important to take time to review watering principles with your seasoned and ...

Vol 7.20 - N is for Plant Health
Chemical properties of nitrogen and how we can use it to manage medium-pH and prevent root diseases. ...

Vol 7.19 - Downy Mildew on Rose
A few cases of downy mildew on rose have been seen in production this season. Inspect incoming plants carefully and cont...

Vol 7.18 - Using Rice Hulls in Ornamental Horticulture
Rice hulls can be used as a substrate aggregate or as a top-dress to suppress liverwort and weed seed germination....

Vol 7.17 - Protecting Pollinators: What Role Can the Greenhouse Industry Play?
The greenhouse industry can help protect honeybees and native pollinators by promoting pollinator-friendly plants and pr...

Vol 7.16 - Getting Herbaceous Perennials Off to a Good Start
For growers who choose to overwinter or purchase vernalized perennials from industry suppliers, the following tips can h...

Vol 7.15 - I tested my growing media, now what?
In this e-Gro Alert we will discuss how to monitor the pH of new batches of growing media. This discussion applies to pe...

Vol 7.14 - Rhizoctonia Infection in High Density Fern Production
In the southern U.S. the last few weeks have been chilly with long periods of cloudy skies. This isn’t particularly unus...

Vol 7.13 - Using Surfactants in Vegetative Cutting Propagation: A Review
The terms adjuvants, surfactants, spreader-stickers, and wetting agents are often confused. I clarify these terms and co...

Vol 7.12 - Avoid Cutting Losses by Prioritizing Sticking
Lower leaf yellowing and senescence of problematic species can be reduced or prevented by prioritizing sticking and upda...

Vol 7.11 - Coleus Stock Plants: Don’t Let Viruses, Foliar Nematodes or Downy Mildew Ruin Your Crop
Vegetatively propagated coleus plants are a very popular spring bedding plant. While there are many new patented cultiva...

Vol 7.10 - Preparing for a New Season: Making a List and Checking it Twice!
This comprehensive start-up checklist will help greenhouse growers prepare for a new season....

Vol 7.09 - Nutritional Factsheet Dahlia Cutting
Learn more about nutritional monitoring of dahlia....

Vol 7.08 - Nutritional Factsheet New Guinea impatiens
Learn more about nutritional of New Guinea impatiens....

Vol 7.07 - Nutritional Factsheet Gerbera
Learn more about nutritional monitoring of gerbera....

Vol 7.06 - Nutritional Factsheet Calibrachoa
Learn more about nutritional monitoring of calibrachoa....

Vol 7.05 - Nutritional Factsheet Petunias
Learn more about nutritional monitoring of petunias....

Vol 7.04 - Nutritional Factsheet Geraniums
Learn more about nutritional monitoring of geraniums....

Vol 7.03 - Nutritional Factsheet Marigolds
Learn more about nutritional monitoring of marigolds....

Vol 7.02 - Corrective Procedures for Modifying Substrate pH and Electrical Conductivity (EC)
When the pH or substrate electrical conductivity (EC) drifts into unwanted territory, adjustments must be made with corr...

Vol 7.01 - Greenhouse Snow Load and Removal
As a greenhouse operator, are you prepared to remove heavy, wet snow that accumulates in greenhouse gutter-connects or b...

Volume 6 (2017)      

Vol 6.41 - Nutritional Monitoring: Marigolds
Marigolds require a low to medium level of fertility at 100 to 200 ppm N. The optimal pH range is between 5.8 to 6.2. Th...

Vol 6.40 - High pH caused by excessive leaching
Nutrient deficiencies and high pH often go hand in hand when rooting cuttings under mist....

Vol 6.39 - Diseases of Veronica
The herbaceous perennial, Veronica, is susceptible to many diseases including rust and cucumber mosaic virus....

Vol 6.38 - When Plants Back Up in the Retail Greenhouse
What happens when poor weather keeps customers at home, and retail greenhouses get crowded?...

Vol 6.37 - Monitoring pH and EC of Growing Medium
Prevent problems by monitoring! In this Alert, we provide a review of the extraction methods to measure pH and EC of the...

Vol 6.36 - Peony: Tobacco Rattle Virus
Light and dark green mosaic (mottled) patterns and ringspots were observed on peony leaves. This Alert will describe a c...

Vol 6.35 - Nutrient deficient vegetable bedding plants
Are your vegetable and herb plants looking deficient? ...

Vol 6.34 - Best Practices in Chlorination
Efficient and safe use of chlorine as an irrigation water treatment....

Vol 6.33 - Identifying and Mitigating Herbicide Contamination in the Greenhouse
Herbicides applied off-site or within the greenhouse can significantly damage ornamental and edible crops. This article ...

Vol 6.32 - Spring is for Insects (and Mites)
While we recognize that insects and mites play critical beneficial and ecological roles, April can be the cruelest month...

Vol 6.31 - What To Do, and Not Do, When You Experience A Total Greenhouse Crop Failure
If one day you find yourself with a greenhouse full of dying or unsellable plants, here is a brief review of the things ...

Vol 6.30 - Heat Stress Causes Foliar Bleaching and Chlorosis of Zonal Geranium
White (bleached) or yellow (chlorotic) foliage of zonal geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum) is an indicator of heat stress...

Vol 6.29 - Russet Skinned Tomatoes? Beware of Tomato Russet Mites
Eriophyid mites are small, difficult to detect, and can cause major problems in a variety of crops. Damage caused by tom...

Vol 6.28 - Tomato Leaf Distortion: Unintended Herbicide Drift
Drift from herbicide applications can lead to unintended side effects in greenhouse crops. Symptoms of distorted growth ...

Vol 6.27 - Gerbera: Diagnosing Interveinal Chlorosis of Upper Leaves
Upper leaf interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) of gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) is an indicator of iron (Fe) deficiency and ...

Vol 6.26 - Goji Berry: High pH Induced Iron Chlorosis
A group of Goji Berry plants (Lycium barbarum) were exhibiting upper leaf interveinal chlorosis. A PourThru test found ...

Vol 6.25 - St. John’s Wort: Lower Leaf Necrotic Spotting
Low substrate pH can lead to symptom development on the lower leaves of sensitive species. On St. John’s Wort, these sym...

Vol 6.24 - Fuchsia: Lower Leaf Purpling
High substrate pH will induce upper leaf interveinal chlorosis. However, an observed, but not reported, reddish-purple ...

Vol 6.23 - Torenia: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
Necrotic leaf spot and faint necrotic ringspots were observed on torenia. Further inspection revealed necrotic stem tis...

Vol 6.22 - Improving the Efficacy of Ethephon Sprays by Adjusting Water Quality and Temperature
The PGR ethephon (ie. Florel and Collate) breaks down to release ethylene, reducing internode elongation, increasing bra...

Vol 6.21 - Lobelia: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
Stunted lobelia plants with mottled leaves were observed while visiting a grower. Both symptoms are typical of what occ...

Vol 6.20 - Coleus: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
A wilting coleus plant with sunken necrotic tissue on the stem was observed. Upon inspection of other coleus plants, nec...

Vol 6.19 - The Alternative Chilli Thrips
The adage, "things are not always what they seem" was again demonstrated in the recent case of chilli thrips....

Vol 6.18 - Improving PGR Spray Applications
Learn how to improve uniformity with PGR spray applications...

Vol 6.17 - Alternanthera Mosaic Virus (AltMV)
This spring, we’ve seen reports of Alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV) on Celosia. Here’s a quick review, so you can be o...

Vol 6.16 - Heuchera: pH Induced Iron Toxicity
Low substrate pH induced iron toxicity results?in small necrotic spots developing on the lower leaves. Spots begin as pi...

Vol 6.15 - Hydrangea Nutrition: Lower Leaf Purpling (Phosphorus Deficiency)
Purple discoloration of the lower leaves is an indicator of limited phosphorus (P) in the plant. The availability of P ...

Vol 6.14 - Hydrangea Nutrition: Upper Leaf InterveinalChorosis (Iron Deficiency)
Interveinalchlorosis (yellowing) of the upper foliage is an indicator that iron (Fe) is limited in availability. Many c...

Vol 6.13 - Hydrangea Nutrition: Upper Leaf Tip Necrosis – Water Stress or Calcium?
The most common cause of necrotic leaf tip burn of hydrangeas is drought stress. In contrast, tip burn of the youngest ...

Vol 6.12 - Ornamental Sweetpotato Intumescence: A Physiological Disorder
Sporadic green bumps and clusters of translucent or white wart-like lesions were recently observed among veins of dark-l...

Vol 6.11 - Zero Tolerance for Weeds in the Greenhouse
Don't let weeds grow in the greenhouse. Growers know it, customers sense it, researchers understand it, and Exten...

Vol 6.10 - Manage pH with water soluble fertilizers
Learn how to adjust the acidity and basicity of the fertilizer program to stabilize pH...

Vol 6.09 - Unexpectedly High Daytime Greenhouse Temperatures Can Disrupt Crop Expecations
Much of the mid-west, south and lower northeast have been experiencing unusually warm weather, characterized by many con...

Vol 6.08 - Pythium Problems
Overwatering can cause many problems, Pythium root rot is one....

Vol 6.07 - Insecticides Labeled for Greenhousegrown Vegetables
Vegetable greenhouse growers should verify that their edible crops are on the insecticide labels when treating for insec...

Vol 6.06 - Diagnosing Greenhouse Leaf Margin Issues
Leaf margin issues are common and occur across many crops. They can indicate issues that may lead to bigger problems go...

Vol 6.05 - The Pest From Abroad: Watch for Broad Mite in Spring Crops
Broad mite was again a common pest of greenhouse annuals in 2016. Following are some reminders about how to keep this fr...

Vol 6.04 - Nutrient Management Strategies for Ensuring Blue Coloration of Greenhouse Hydrangeas
The blue coloration in hydrangeas is the result of managing three primary factors: applying aluminum sulfate, lowering t...

Vol 6.03 - INSV on Nemesia
Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) often gets missed on nemesia. Don’t let this one fool you!...

Vol 6.02 - BMPs for Bee Health
New Best Management Practices for protecting pollinators just announced by the Horticultural Research Institute....

Vol 6.01 - Geranium: Diagnosing Nutritional Disorders
Already this spring, a number of geranium issues have occurred. A quick photographic guide to nutritional disorders may...

Edible Alerts      

Vol 9.11 - Financial Tools for Leafy Green Growers
This publication highlights the development of an online tool HortCalculator. The tool provides economic feasibility ana...

Vol 9.09 - UV radiation transmission of common greenhouse glazing materials
Selection of glazing materials is a critical process as it significantly affects light environment (intensity, quality, ...

Vol 9.08 - A Primer of Artificial Intelligence for Greenhouse Control
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disrupting industries by enabling computers to learn and perform tasks that once require...

Vol 9.07 - Disease management in edible greenhouse crops
The occurrence and severity of plant diseases within greenhouse and hydroponically produced crops is dependent on the ch...

Vol 9.06 - Do Microgreens Respond to Fertilizer Concentration and Substrate Depth?
Microgreens represent a quick turn, potentially high value crop increasingly popular with consumers. In this Alert we’ll...

Vol 9.05 - The US Market for Salad Mixes
This publication illustrates the findings from a study conducted by the author and collaborators titled “Characterizing ...

Vol 9.04 - Do Microgreens Respond to Daily Light Integral and Carbon Dioxide Enrichment?
Microgreens are defined as a wide range of vegetable and herb seedlings that are harvested shortly after the emergence o...

Vol 9.03 - CEA is Growing: Trends from the U.S. 2022 Census of Agriculture
Every five years the United States Department of Agriculture collects comprehensive farm level data across all agricultu...

Vol 9.02 - Powdery mildew on Rosemary
An outbreak of powdery mildew was recently seen in greenhouse-grown rosemary plants. Powdery mildew management relies on...

Vol 9.01 - How to grow grafted watermelon transplants
Author: Jason Hollick and Chieri Kubota (the Ohio State University) Vegetable grafting combines two plants for better p...

Vol 8.16 - VPD<sub>leaf</sub> vs. VPD<sub>air</sub> - Two different ways to determine VPD
Moisture content in the air is an important environmental variable for plant production systems. We use "VPD" ...

Vol 8.15 - Lighting resources online: Project LAMP website
Project LAMP recently updated their website, now available at: hortlamp.uga.edu and the objective of this e-Gro Alert is...

Vol 8.14 - Online tool to aid greenhouse lighting fixture selection
Selecting a light system is one of the most difficult capital expense decisions for greenhouses. While there are many co...

Vol 8.12 - Pericarp cracking and moisture management to improve spinach germination
Poor and inconsistent germination is one of many issues in hydroponic spinach. This article presents a seed treatment to...

Vol 8.11 - Visual symptoms of N, P, K, and Mg deficiency in hemp
The objective of this project was to demonstrate visual symptoms of common nutritional disorders of hydroponically grown...

Vol 8.10 - Lettuce tipburn sensitivity trial –Preliminary results
It’s tipburn again! However, it is an environmental disorder that greenhouse and other CEA lettuce growers have to deal ...

Vol 8.09 - N and K for Tomato Production
Nitrogen and potassium to achieve continuous tomato production in soilless media. ...

Vol 8.08 - The Benefits of Marketing Food-Producing Plants as Local
This e-GRO Alert covers information related to marketing the benefits of local plants with an emphasis on research relat...

Vol 8.06 - Managing Substrate pH and Fertility of Containerized Culinary Herbs
Containerized culinary herbs are best grown when a substrate pH of 5.8 to 6.2 is maintained and 100 to 150 ppm N is prov...

Vol 8.04 - Make room for Mushrooms
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotusspp.) are the second most widely produced mushroom behind button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus...

Vol 8.01 - Update: Growing Rubus crops in containers and substrate
In 2020, we wrote an eGRO Edibles Alert on growing Rubus species (blackberry and raspberry) in containers and soilless s...

Vol 7.18 - Americans Prefer Grocery Stores, But Favor Friendly Atmosphere from Local Markets
Our study investigated the factors guiding the choice of marketplace for fresh fruit purchases. We also investigated wha...

Vol 7.15 - Why does condensation happen on your plants?
Condensation dripping onto or forming on plants is problematic in greenhouse crop production. A typical misunderstanding...

Vol 7.14 - Powdery Mildew of Hemp
Powdery mildew, characterized by white powdery spots on leaves is among the greatest disease issues faced by hemp grower...

Vol 7.13 - Spider Mites on Greenhouse Strawberries
Strawberries with stippled, bronzed, and fully desiccated leaves were observed. These leaves were covered in webs and ap...

Vol 7.12 - Are Your Air Temperatures Accurate
Temperature is one of most important environmental variables for plant growth. Temperature measurement may seem easy, bu...

Vol 7.11 - For Young Consumers Farm-to-Fork Is Not Organic
This study investigated the market segments of young consumers based on their valuation towards foods from organic, loca...

Vol 7.08 - Finish more leafy crops by using nursery channels or rafts
Increasing the output of a facility increases revenue. By using space more efficiently during the early part of the crop...

Vol 7.07 - Fusarium Wilt of Hemp
Fusarium wilt causing crown and root rots is a common fungal pathogen of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) whether it is grown o...

Vol 7.06 - Root disease management in hydroponic systems
 Root disease is always a concern within any hydroponic system with Pythium being the most common pathogen. The key to d...

Vol 7.05 - Grafting Cucumbers for High Tunnel Production: Is It Worth It?
Short description: This study provides a baseline reference for growers interested in grafting seedless cucumber and for...

Vol 7.04 - Managing micronutrients in hydroponic culture
Managing micronutrients in hydroponic production systems with recirculating nutrient solutions requires a different appr...

Vol 7.03 - Don’t treat all surfaces the same
 The characteristics of materials will affect the efficacy of sanitizers and pathogen survival. In this Alert, we discus...

Vol 7.02 - Engaging The New Green Industry Consumer
The following e-GRO Alert highlights marketing strategies to attract and engage new green industry consumers in the reta...

Vol 7.01 - Common diseases of hydroponic leafy greens and herbs
Learn the symptoms, cultural management, preventive fungicide controls and further resources for five of the most common...

Vol 6.17 - Supplementing silicon with container-grown edible crops.
Supplemental applications of silicon during production may be a strategy to help growers mitigate the incidence of disea...

Vol 6.16 - Stop the drop in greenhouse lettuce production
An overview of lettuce drop in controlled environment agriculture. A description of the symptoms and management strategi...

Vol 6.14 - Nutrient Antagonisms- The potassium-calcium-magnesium relationship
Keeping a balanced nutrient solution is an important part of managing hydroponic nutrient solutions. This e-GRO Edible A...

Vol 6.13 - Potassium Deficiency of Greenhouse Cucumbers
Potassium deficiency of greenhouse cucumbers may be initially observed as chlorosis (yellowing) of the older lower leaf ...

Vol 6.12 - Managing Western Flower Thrips in CEA Strawberry Operations
Western flower thrips are among the most damaging greenhouse pests, especially on strawberries. ...

Vol 6.11 - Fine tuning nutrient replenishment in hydroponics
This e-GRO Edibles Alert provides a real-world scenario where maintaining a target solution EC resulted in nutrient defi...

Vol 6.10 - Natural Enemies in Edible Crops
Most all greenhouse growers rely on integrated pest management (IPM) techniques to prevent pest populations from establi...

Vol 6.09 - Finding the balance: calcium related disorders in vegetable fruiting crops
Vegetable fruiting crops grown hydroponically are susceptible to physiological disorders related to the uptake and trans...

Vol 6.08 - Calculating Application Rates for Greenhouse Vegetable Crops
Some tips on figuring amounts of insecticide and water to use when making greenhouse vegetable crop applications....

Vol 6.07 - Plant biostimulants as a tool for hydroponic vegetable production
Biostimulants are a relatively new class of materials that have not been well studied for greenhouse crops...

Vol 6.06 - Optimizing leafy green and herb seedling culture
The key to a productive harvest starts with healthy and uniform seedlings. Poor choices or…...

Vol 6.05 - Chilling Injury Symptomology of Greenhouse Cucumbers
Cucumbers are cold sensitive and chilling injury can occur if air temperature drops below 65 ºF. Chilling injury of cucu...

Vol 6.04 - Epinasty, malformation & bud abortion, what are the possible causes?
The distortion and stunting of plants, along with reduced/delayed flowering and bud abortion are not uncommon obser...

Vol 6.03 - Census of Horticultural Specialties
Are you wondering who is growing what where? The most comprehensive source for up-to-date horticulture crop production d...

Vol 6.02 - Closed-Loop Irrigation for Vine Crops
Basic considerations to design a closed-loop irrigation system for vine crops in greenhouses....

Vol 6.01 - Managing Leaf/Calyx Tipburn in Greenhouse Strawberries
Browning of leaf and calyx edges of strawberries is a common disorder in greenhouse production (Figure 1). This disorder...

Vol 5.10 - Grow Food, Not Pests: Some Common (and Uncommon) Greenhouse Pests
About the furthest thing from anyone’s mind starting out in greenhouse or high tunnel production is pest management, giv...

Vol 5.09 - Choosing the right pH and EC meter
This article discusses some of the basics of pH and EC meters, how they are used, and relative costs. We also cover comm...

Vol 5.08 - A Potential Substrate Amendment in Container Production
Biochar is a charcoal-like material produced from wood and other agricultural wastes. While, biochar may have beneficial...

Vol 5.07 - Surface Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
A summary of the surface disinfectants for use against SARS-CoV-2 based on the Environmental Protection Agency guideline...

Vol 5.06 - Is containerized blackberry production ready for prime time?
Blackberries and other small fruits are increasingly being grown in soilless substrate and containers versus field soil....

Vol 5.05 - Powdery Mildew Management 101
Though powdery mildew does not lead to total crop death in the way that many other pathogens do, growers need to manage ...

Vol 5.04 - LED supplemental lighting
Don’t be alarmed if some of your crops turn purple under LED supplemental lighting providing red and blue radiation....

Vol 5.03 - Test & Adjust Nutrients in Hydroponics
Sample nutrient solutions, substrates, and tissue. Use the results to adjust nutrient programs....

Vol 5.02 - Cucumber hollow heart
This Alert provides tips to avoid cucumber hollow heart by altering the growing environment and cultural practices....

Vol 5.01 - Yellow Shoulder of Tomato
A common fruit ripening disorder in greenhouse tomato production is yellow shoulder in which the top of tomato fruit fai...

Vol 4.08 - Battling Botrytis Blight and Stem Canker on Greenhouse-Grown Tomatoes
Botrytis blight and stem canker is a prevalent problem on greenhouse-grown tomatoes. In this Alert, we discuss how to i...

Vol 4.07 - Managing Basil Downy Mildew in the Greenhouse
Downy mildew continues to be the most important disease of basil throughout most of the USA, affecting plants grown outd...

Vol 4.06 - Inner leaf "tip-burn" in lettuce
This e-GRO Edibles Alert article covers the cause of inner leaf tip-burn, how to differentiate tip-burn from other forms...

Vol 4.05 - Edema of Greenhouse Tomatoes and Kale
One of the many challenges of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and kale (Brassica oleracea) greenhouse growers is the manag...

Vol 4.04 - K is for Cucumbers
In this Alert, we cover the role of K in plant growth, the characteristics of K deficiency symptoms, and how to develop ...

Vol 4.03 - Tomato cluster kinking, snapping, or ripping
This Alert focuses on what causes pedicles or fruiting stems to kink, snap, or rip during production and how you can min...

Vol 4.02 - Gray Mold of Greenhouse Strawberries caused by Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinerea (gray mold) is the most recurrent and arguably most detrimental pathogen for strawberry production, sto...

Vol 4.01 - Magnesium or micronutrient deficiency in basil? Don’t be fooled!
Magnesium deficiency is a common nutritional problem in basil, but can sometimes be tricky to diagnose....

Vol 3.07 - What is swimming around your roots?
Root rot diseases can cause major problems for hydroponic growers, especially in recirculating systems. Symptoms can eas...

Vol 3.06 - Preventing Chilling Injury of Greenhouse and Vertical Farm Grown Basil
Demand for year-round and locally produced fresh-cut and potted culinary herbs such as basil (OcimumbasilicumL.) has bee...

Vol 3.05 - Fertilizer Calculation Basics for Hydroponics
I’m often asked by growers and students alike to walk them through the calculations for setting up a hydroponic fertiliz...

Vol 3.04 - Flue Gases Can Wreak Havoc on Horticultural Crops
Flue gases are best described as an unseen enemy that can compromise yield and plant quality in a few short hours....

Vol 3.03 - Magnesium Deficiency of Hydroponic and Container Grown Basil
Basil is sensitive to magnesium deficiency. Visual symptoms of magnesium deficiency appear first on old and recently mat...

Vol 3.02 - 5 Social Media Best Practices That Can Help You Increase Sales
This publication highlights the profile of green industry businesses using social media and provides social media best p...

Vol 3.01 - Pythium Root Rot on Hydroponically Grown Basil and Spinach
Basil and spinach are susceptible to economically devastating levels of Pythium root infection in hydroponics…...

Vol 2.10 - Control plant growth and height for potted herbs
Excessive stem stretch and leaf expansion results in “leggy” potted herbs. Learn nonchemical strategies for achieving mo...

Vol 2.09 - Developing a Farm Food Safety Plan for Your Operation
The development of a farm food safety plan that is followed by all members of your administrative, growing, harvesting, ...

Vol 2.08 - Pruning Greenhouse Tomatoes for Optimum Yield
Growers must manage foliage and fruit loads throughout the growing season using various management stratgeies including ...

Vol 2.07 - Biofungicides for Control of Root Diseases on Greenhouse-Grown Vegetables
Summary of microbial biofungicides labeled for root diseases....

Vol 2.06 - Insecticides Labeled for Greenhouse-grown Leafy Greens and Herbs
Leafy green and herb greenhouse growers should verify that their crops are on the insecticide labels when treating for i...

Vol 2.05 - How Many Light Fixtures Do I Need?
Thinking of adding or upgrading supplemental lights in your greenhouse? This alert will walk you through estimating how ...

Vol 2.04 - Don't be Dim! Watch out for Low Light on Leafy Green Seedlings
Are your leafy green and herb seedlings looking excessively tall and spindly? The problem may very well be lack of adequ...

Vol 2.03 - Not-so purple basil
Having trouble with getting your purple basil colored-up?...

Vol 2.02 - An Introduction to the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule
Learn whether your greenhouse-grown produce is covered under FDA's newly enacted Food Safety Modernization Act, inc...

Vol 2.01 - Bolting of Hydroponic Lettuce and Spinach
Avoid hot temperatures in the greenhouse to keep your lettuce and spinach plants from prematurely going to seed....

Vol 1.08 - Iron Deficiency of Hydroponic Leafy Greens and Herbs
Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutrient disorders in hydroponic crops. The general symptoms are yellowing bet...

Vol 1.07 - Thrips, Beneficials, and Bees in Greenhouse Tomato Production
Greenhouse tomato production is in full swing across the US, with many producers harvesting ripened fruit. Learn how to ...

Vol 1.06 - Algae on the nutrient solution and surfaces
Algae on the surface of nutrient solutions affect plant health and yields. In this issue, we will talk about why this is...

Vol 1.05 - Disease or Disorder? Common Issues in Greenhouse Tomato Production
Growing greenhouse tomatoes in the late winter and early spring can provide unique challenges to producing healthy plant...

Vol 1.04 - Pythium Root Rot on Hydroponic Lettuce
Lettuce production on hydroponics systems is prone to infection caused by waterborne pathogens. In this issue, we will ...

Vol 1.03 - Slow Basil Growth
Is your basil growing too slow? Learn how to get growth back on track....

Vol 1.02 - Basil Fusarium Wilt
Basil is the most popular herb in the U.S. and because of its profitability is widely produced by container and hydropon...

Vol 1.01 - Welcome!
On behalf of the e-GRO Team, I'd like to introduce and welcome you to e-GRO Edible Alerts! Next week we will be bac...

Volume 5 (2016)      

Vol 5.39 - Stevia: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) can be found in both field or greenhouse environments and is characterized by its chlor...

Vol 5.38 - Broad Mites on Ornamental Peppers
A number of stunted and distorted ornamental peppers were recently observed with distorted leaves. These symptoms were c...

Vol 5.37 - Knock Out Rose: Undifferentiated Growth on Stem
A rose was observed to have a large woody mass near the base of the stem, the likely the result of an agrobacterium infe...

Vol 5.36 - Stephanotis: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
Distinctive, white ringspots were confirmed to be TSWV on stephanotis plants. ...

Vol 5.35 - Bacterial Leaf Spot: Pepper and Tomato in the Greenhouse
Greenhouse-grown pepper and tomato transplants and seedlings allow for earlier field production. The greenhouse environm...

Vol 5.34 - Dragon Wing Begonia: Diagnosing Upper Leaf Interveinal Chlorosis
Interveinal chlorosis of the upper foliage usually denotes a deficiency of iron. In the case of this sample, the substr...

Vol 5.33 - Lysimachia: Lower Leaf Purplish-Black Spotting
Low substrate pH induced micro-nutrient (iron) toxicity is discussed on Lysimachia ...

Vol 5.32 - Nitrogen Deficiency: Don’t Let Bronze Foliage Fool You!
Don't be confused when diagnosing nitrogen deficiency on bronze foliage. Instead of the normal light green to yell...

Vol 5.31 - Maintaining High-Quality Plants in Retail Settings
Growers do a great job growing high quality plants, however we have noticed that quality may be compromised as plants st...

Vol 5.30 - There’s a Mouse in the (Green)house!
How to identify and control two common rodent pests of greenhouses: mice and voles....

Vol 5.29 - Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) on Lobelia, Montauk Daisy, Osteospermum, and Hybrid Pericalli
This spring we have seen a number of plants with TSWV including lobelia, Montauk daisy, osteospermum, and hybrid perical...

Vol 5.28 - Come to Grips with Thrips
Is there any greenhouse pest more annoying, and damaging, than western flower thrips? Well, maybe, but it certainly ra...

Vol 5.27 - Retractable Blackout Curtains should NOT be used as Greenhouse Shading
In this alert, you will learn about the advantages and disadvantage of using shading compounds and retractable shade cur...

Vol 5.26 - Keep an eye on nutrition!
Growers should regularly test their water quality as well as media pH and EC. Doing so will prevent nutrient deficiencie...

Vol 5.25 - Petunia: Lower Leaf Interveinal Chlorosis and Necrosis
Magnesium deficiency is the most common cause of lower leaf chlorosis and necrosis, but test results found ample levels....

Vol 5.24 - Tracing Water Quality Back to the Source
The quality of water used for irrigation and pesticide application can impact crop quality, pesticide efficacy and the e...

Vol 5.23 - Ipomoea: Distorted Upper Growth
Ornamental sweet potato was noticed to be stunted and deformed. Broad mites were confirmed as being the culprit. ...

Vol 5.22 - The Plant Mimic of Leaf Spots: Foliar Nematodes
When leaves start to develop angular leaf spots, there are three potential casual pathogens: foliar nematodes, bacteria,...

Vol 5.21 - How Much do Hanging Baskets Influence the Light Quality and Quantity for Crops Grown Below?
In this alert, learn how hanging baskets have both photosynthetic and hotomorphogenic implications on the crops growing ...

Vol 5.20 - Those Tiny Mites
Judging from the surge of calls, and pests, spring has arrived in earnest. One sample in the Diagnostic Lab this week is...

Vol 5.19 - Do You Have Brown Soft Scale on Your Ferns?
They've been hiding all winter, but with the onset of rising ADT, and the vegetative push growers give ferns to mak...

Vol 5.18 - Pericallis: Lower leaf chlorosis and necrosis.
The three possible reasons for this disorder in cineraria is discussed....

Vol 5.17 - Geraniums: Low pH Induced Fe/Mn Toxicity
Geraniums are the poster child of low substrate induced Fe/Mn toxicities. They develop the classical orange-red sp...

Vol 5.16 - Gerbera: Low pH Induced Fe/Mn Toxicity
Gerbera develop lower leaf purplish-black spotting. Read about what to look for in order to confirm the disorder....

Vol 5.15 - Diagnosing Low pH Disorders
This alert discusses three ways to diagnose your low substrate pH induced problems....

Vol 5.14 - Coleus Downy Mildew Update
Coleus downy mildew can cause leaf spots, necrotic lesions, leaf twisting, leaf drop, and/or stunt. Management opti...

Vol 5.13 - Black Root Rot on Pansy…Keep Looking at Those Roots!
Pansies (Viola spp.) are very susceptible to black root rot. The symptoms of black root rot are: chlorotic lower foliage...

Vol 5.12 - Spring Thielaviopsis? Look To Your Roots!
Thielaviopsis can be expressed as plants with nutritional problems or slow growth. Learn what to look for to identify a...

Vol 5.11 - Managing Aphids in Hanging Baskets
Some tips on managing aphids in baskets....

Vol 5.10 - Measuring Pesticides More Accurately
Tips and tools for measuring small amounts of pesticides with greater accuracy....

Vol 5.09 - Scouting Those Plug Trays Is Essential!
After seeing insect and disease issues very early this season, it would be timely to review scouting plug trays. A good ...

Vol 5.08 - Revisiting DIF in Easter Lily Production
Producing perfect potted Easter lilies for market can be challenging. Fortunately, growers can manage greenhouse tempera...

Vol 5.07 - Oh Bother, Botrytis Again?
There are lots of complaints about Botrytis this winter. Botrytis can cause damping off, stem lesions or cankers, stem o...

Vol 5.06 - Increasing the Rooting Success of Challenging Vegetative Cutting Species
Some growers are struggling to root and propagate some herbs, such as rosemary and lavender this season. Greenhouse grow...

Vol 5.05 - Iresine: Flowering and Stalled Vegetative Growth
Iresine herbstii 'Aureoreticulata' requires long days to remain vegetative. Under short day conditions, plants...

Vol 5.04 - Preventing Liner Stretch
Controlling plant size can be a challenge, but successful height management begins in propagation. Liner stretch, or unw...

Vol 5.03 - Scaevola: What Actually Causes Interveinal Chlorosis
With scaevola, interveinal chlorosis of the younger leaves is a common problem. The most obvious cause is an iron defic...

Vol 5.02 - Scaevola Troubleshooting Guide
A new iBook is available that helps growers diagnose disease, insect, nutritional, and physiological disorders of scaevo...

Vol 5.01 - 2016 e-GRO Alerts Begin
Find out who the new contributors are for the e-GRO Team. Contributors now number 13 from 10 different states....

Volume 4 (2015)      

Vol 4.39 - Powdery Mildew on Greenhouse-grown Lettuce
Powdery mildew commonly affects greenhouse lettuce crops and can lead to significant losses if not properly managed. Lea...

Vol 4.38 - Christmas Cactus: Yellow and Necrosis of Phylloclades
Christmas cacti are sensitive to low substrate pH conditions, which can lead to phylloclade chlorotic blotches and necro...

Vol 4.37 - Scented Geraniums: Proliferation of Basal Growth
A mass of growth with small leaves is the typical symptom of a leafy gall infection. Inspect your scented geranium stock...

Vol 4.36 - Powdery Mildew on Calibrachoa
Powdery mildew can often go unnoticed on calibrachoa. Check your plants for white, powdery, fungal growth ...

Vol 4.35 - Powdery Mildew on Rosemary
Numerous cases of powdery mildew have been seen this season in the greenhouse. Keep an eye on your plants for the tell-t...

Vol 4.34 - Flowering of Begonias
What begonias are you growing? Are your plants flowering too early or too late? This e-GRO Alert will cover what control...

Vol 4.33 - Is your greenhouse irrigation water alkalinity ailing your crop?
If the pH of your media is out-of-whack, consider checking your irrigation water alkalinity...

Vol 4.32 - Botrytis - Taking The Big Image Approach
Botrytis has been an issue spring 2015 and for some it was a big surprise. Botrytis can be avoided! Prevent future outbr...

Vol 4.31 - Tipburn of hydroponic lettuce
The lettuce literature describes two different types of abiotic disorders which share the same name, tipburn. Both disor...

Vol 4.30 - Getting Serious About Aphids
This month I have had several urgent calls about aphids, lots of aphids. On hanging baskets, on bedding plants, on veget...

Vol 4.29 - A Pictorial Guide to Common Symptoms of INSV in Greenhouse Crops
INSV can cause a broad range of symptoms and symptoms can be quite variable on different hosts. In this e-Gro Alert, we...

Vol 4.28 - Avoiding Caladium Conundrums
This e-GRO Alert includes environmental and cultural production information for successful greenhouse caladium forcing. ...

Vol 4.27 - Tank Mixing for Branching and Height Control
Now that many of your bedding and garden plants are in their finished containers, you may be wishing you could improve t...

Vol 4.26 - Mottling and Ringspots
Mottled leaves and brown ringstops on Reiger begonias were observed. Tomato spotted wilt virus was confirmed on the plan...

Vol 4.25 - Ringspots and Mottling
Mottled leaves and ringstops on New Guinea impatiens are common signs of a virus infection. Tomato spotted wilt virus (T...

Vol 4.24 - Lackluster Lantana
Lantana provides splashes of color throughout the summer in containers and landscapes. Although pro-ducing lantana crops...

Vol 4.23 - Lower Leaf Yellowing and Necrosis
Pentas are sensitive to low substrate pH conditions, which can lead to lower leaf chlorosis, interveinal chlorosis, and ...

Vol 4.22 - Ranunculus: Lower Leaf Yellowing and Necrosis
Lower leaf marginal chlorosis and necrosis are the typical signs of a Mg deficiency. A potassium deficiency also has sim...

Vol 4.21 - Why Worry about Weeds
If you are not managing weeds in your greenhouse, you may be hindering your pest management efforts...

Vol 4.20 - Bacterial Leaf Spot of Begonia
Scattered leaf spots, wedge-shaped leaf spots, and wilt can be symptoms of bacterial leaf spot....

Vol 4.19 - Stalled Growth & Flowering
The short days of winter will result in the induction of flowering and stalled growth with alternanthera (Joseph's ...

Vol 4.18 - Time for Thrips Already?
Good thrips management starts with cultural controls...

Vol 4.17 - Avoiding Container Substrate Compaction
This e-GRO Alert includes information on the detrimental effects of substrate compaction from stacking or nesting contai...

Vol 4.16 - Phytotoxicity!! Relative Humidity Affects PGR Uptake
We often caution growers that many of our plant growth regulators (PGRs) are absorbed by leaf tissue relatively slowly a...

Vol 4.15 - Ethylene in the greenhouse
Heater maintenance and proper ventilation will help you avoid this common spring problem....

Vol 4.14 - Using herbicides in a greenhouse is risky business
Be aware of how using herbicides, even in an empty greenhouse, may impact your crop...

Vol 4.13 - Black Root Rot
Irregular patterns of stunt, poor root growth, chlorotic foliage may be caused by black root rot...

Vol 4.12 - A plain and simple checklist for injector problems
Nothing lasts forever, and fertilizer injectors are no exception. Part failures are often not discovered for days, even ...

Vol 4.11 - Strobilanthes: Stalled Growth & Flowering
Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus) is one of my favorite bedding plants. I really like the purple and silver leaf ...

Vol 4.10 - Don't Let The Snow Get You Down
This updated e-GRO Alert includes tips on how to manage heavy snow loads on your greenhouse to help prevent damage to yo...

Vol 4.09 - Checklist for Reducing Greenhouse Heating Costs this Winter
Yes, I know that propane costs are lower than they have been in many years, but wasting as much as half of your greenhou...

Vol 4.08 - Time to Think About Aphids - Again
Bedding plant season is upon us. Southern growers are well into it, northern growers are gearing up. Aphids are ready to...

Vol 4.07 - Bedding Plant Troubleshooting iBook
Edition 3 of the interactive iBook on disorders of ageratum, begonia, celosia, impatiens, marigolds, salvia, snapdragon,...

Vol 4.06 - The Do's and Don’ts of Using Chlorine Bleach as a Surface Disinfectant in Greenhouses.
Using sterilants such as bleach improperly can cause significant damage to crops and endanger the health of your employe...

Vol 4.05 - Petunia: Chlorotic Spots and Necrosis
When used correctly, ethephon applications will result in enhanced plant growth. Because ethylene produced by Florel and...

Vol 4.04 - Guidelines for High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) Lamp Use
This e-GRO Alert includes information on the benefits of supplemental lighting from HPS lamps and guidelines to help you...

Vol 4.03 - Algae in Propagation
This e-GRO alert will discuss algae on substrate during propagation. You will learn the causes of algae, as well as step...

Vol 4.02 - pH Management: Problem ID, Optimal Ranges, and Corrective Procedures
This updated e-GRO Alert includes an extensive listing of optimal pH ranges for greenhouse plants, diagnostic photos of ...

Vol 4.01 - Year 4 Begins: e-GRO Alert Starts New Production Season
We are back for the 2015 spring season with the fourth year of e-GRO Alert....

Volume 3 (2014)      

Vol 3.63 - Powdery Mildew on Poinsettias
Under the right conditions, powdery mildew can spread rapidly on poinsettia crops and even low levels of infections can ...

Vol 3.62 - Garden Mums: Upper leaf yellowing and necrosis
When phosphorus is limited during flowering, mums translocate it from the nearest leaf sink, resulting in upper leaf yel...

Vol 3.61 - Production and Installation Protocols to Avoid Pansy Problems Going Forward!
Depending on where you are in the U.S., Pansy season is either still in the lst stages of the greenhouse phase, or the p...

Vol 3.60 - Rust on Aster
Rust appears on Aster as orange or brown pustules on the underside of leaves and as chlorotic spots on the topside of th...

Vol 3.59 - Poinsettia Fertilization: pH Disorders
Stunting occurs if the substrate pH levels are too low. Poinsettias respond well to a pH range of 5.8 to 6.3. If the sub...

Vol 3.58 - Poinsettia Fertilization: Calcium Deficiency
When a calcium deficiency develops early, it appears as a marginal chlorosis and leaf roll on the younger leaves. Late s...

Vol 3.57 - Poinsettia Fertilization: Sulfur Deficiency
Initial symptoms of sulfur deficiency appear as an overall pale-green to yellow discoloration of the middle part of the ...

Vol 3.56 - Poinsettia Fertilization: Molybdenum Deficiency
Yellow or white marginal discoloration of the recently mature leaves denotes a molybdenum deficiency. Deficiencies typic...

Vol 3.55 - Poinsettia Fertilization: Magnesium Deficiency
Interveinal chlorosis of the older leaves denotes a magnesium deficiency. The location of late season deficiencies often...

Vol 3.54 - Poinsettia Fertilization: Getting Phosphorus Right
Growing poinsettias with a low phosphorus fertilization regime helps control excessive stretch. If phosphorus levels are...

Vol 3.53 - Tips for Diagnosing Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
Learn how to use ImmunoStrips (Agdia, Inc.) to rapidly diagnose INSV in plants on-site in the greenhouse....

Vol 3.52 - INSV on Echinacea
Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) caused various symptoms ranging from small necrotic spots and mottled areas to irre...

Vol 3.51 - INSV on Penstemon
Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) caused symptoms ranging from small necrotic ring spots to irregularly shaped necrot...

Vol 3.50 - Black Rot of Ornamental Cabbage and Kale (update)
Watch for black rot on your ornamental cabbage and kale crops – look for wedgeshaped lesions and blackened veins....

Vol 3.49 - Vinca: Leaf Mottling and Necrosis, Stem Lesions
An infection by the Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) of vinca resulted in leaf mottling and necrosis. Tan stem lesions a...

Vol 3.48 - Poinsettia Propagation: Erwinia and Rhizoctonia
The warm, moist environment during poinsettia propagation is perfect for the development of Bacterial Soft Rot and Rhizo...

Vol 3.47 - Getting Ahead of Pests on Ornamental Cabbage and Kale
Ornamental cabbage and kale pests are not difficult to control but knowing what to look for, detecting pests early, and ...

Vol 3.46 - Black Rot of Ornamental Cabbage
Fortunately, there aren't too many diseases that trouble ornamental cabbage; most samples we see tend to be nutriti...

Vol 3.45 - Ornamental Cabbage and Kale: Avoiding Lower Leaf Loss
Curtailing fertilization results in lower leaf yellowing, leaf loss, and poor quality plants. Center head coloration is ...

Vol 3.44 - Zinnia: Tip Burn of Young Leaves
Leaf tip necrosis is a common problem encountered during summer production of zinnias. This problem is due to an environ...

Vol 3.43 - Gerbera:Mottling and Necrotic Spotting
An infection by the impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) of gerbera resulted in leaf mottling and necrotic leaf spots....

Vol 3.42 - Insecticides and Plant Sensitivity
Insecticides can be very valuable tools, but be aware of plant sensitivity....

Vol 3.41 - Chilling Injury: What It Is, Why It Happens and How To Avoid It!
Chill damage, or more specifi cally, damage caused by rapid changes in temperature can happen any time. Most commonly af...

Vol 3.40 - Glyphosate Vapor Drift: Bright Yellow Young Growth
Bright yellow young growth on numerous plant species near the air intake fans in the greenhouse can denote glyphosate va...

Vol 3.39 - Dodder (Cuscuta spp.): Orange, spaghetti-like growth
Orange, spaghetti-like growth entwined around plants denotes an infestation of the parasitic weed dodder....

Vol 3.38 - Don't Let Your Plant Go Hungry in Retail
It is easy to forget about plant nutrtion once your plants move to the retail area. Be sure you have your plant nutritio...

Vol 3.37 - INSV on Coleus
Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) causes spots, ringspots, arc-shaped lesions, and irregular line patterns on coleus....

Vol 3.36 - Calla Lily: Mottling and Necrotic Spotting
An infection by the tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) of calla lily resulted in mottling of the flower and leaves, along ...

Vol 3.35 - Thinking Broadly About Mites
Broad mite problems are appearing in greenhouses. Know what to look for, how to confirm an infestation, and distinguish ...

Vol 3.34 - Fusarium on Hiemalis (Rieger) Begonia
Fusarium on hiemalis begonia can cause discolored leaves, basal stem cankers and rot, and plant collapse....

Vol 3.33 - Is Your Double-Poly Greenhouse Properly Inflated with Outside Air?
Making sure that your double-poly greenhouse is properly filled with air will increase the lifespan of your poly and hel...

Vol 3.32 - e-GRO App for Selecting Fungicides
With the new e-GRO Disease Control Guide, you can have a resource to help you with you fungicide applications in your po...

Vol 3.31 - Calcium Defi ciency = Upper Leaf Necrosis in Oriental Lilies
Research determines that calcium defi ciencies in Oriental lilies can lead to water-soaked, curling, distorted and nectr...

Vol 3.30 - Ageratum: Lower Leaf Purplish-Black Discoloration
Low substrate pH induced micro-nutrient (Iron/Manganese) toxicity is discussed on ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum)....

Vol 3.29 - Streptocarpus: Lower Leaf Purplish-Black Discoloration
During a grower visit, came across a crop of streptocarpus plants with lower leaf purpling <...

Vol 3.28 - PGRs for Growth Control and Reducing Shrinkage in a Late Spring Year
It has been a tough winter and it looks like there will be a late spring in many areas of the country. Take a look at us...

Vol 3.27 - Thrips Tips
Western flower thrips continues to be a major spring greenhouse pest. Successful management includes much more than just...

Vol 3.26 - Industry Impatiens Survey Results Are In!
Results from growers and retailers show that while impatiens production and sales were down in 2013, overall total busin...

Vol 3.25 - Cold temperatures + Cloudy days = Careful watering!
With cold and cloudy days it can be easy to overwater your crops. Overwatering your crops can lead to a number of nutrit...

Vol 3.24 - Leafy Gall (Rhodococcus fascians) on Geranium, Wallflower, and Coreopsis
Rhodococcus fascians causes leafy gall, which is an odd proliferation of leaf tissue.<br><br>...

Vol 3.23 - Sempervivum: Ringspots and Necrosis
An infection by the impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) of sempervivum (Hens and Chicks) resulted in ringspots and necr...

Vol 3.22 - Ranunculus: Necrotic Leaf Spots and Mottling
An infection by the impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) of ranunculus resulted in necrotic leaf spots and mottling and ...

Vol 3.21 - Correctly Applying Iron Chelates – Avoiding the Burn
Once you have applied a substrate drench of iron chelate to your crop, immediately rinse off the foliage and flowers wit...

Vol 3.20 - Coleus: Lower Foliage Dark, Angular Leaf Spots
An infection by foliar nematodes which resulted in lower leaf, black, angular leaf spots is highlighted in this article....

Vol 3.19 - Are You Ready For The Spring-Swing?
One of the main reasons we publish E-Gro Alerts is to provide growers with advance warning of problems and issues that a...

Vol 3.18 - Using PGR Liner Soaks for Early Growth Regulation
Liner soaks offer an excellent means of getting growth control of vigorous crops early in the production cycle....

Vol 3.17 - Questioning a plant pathogen in your greenhouse crop?
Getting a quick and accurate diagnosis is essential during the rush of spring production, so that cultural changes or pl...

Vol 3.16 - Avoiding common mistakes when germinating seeds.
Avoiding some key mistakes will ensure that seed propagated material you use this spring will result in a high quality c...

Vol 3.15 - Tobacco Mosaic Virus on Petunia
Watch for symptoms of TMV in your petunia crops! Symptoms of TMV include leaf mottle, leaf distortion, vein clearing, st...

Vol 3.14 - Geranium Cutting Propagation – Reducing lower-leaf yellowing
In my recent visits to greenhouses, I have seen the all- too-common lower leaf yellowing of geranium cuttings during pro...

Vol 3.13 - Licorice Plant (Helichrysum): Disorder Diagnostics
Diagnostic guide providing a key and identification photographs of the major disorders associated with the licorice plan...

Vol 3.12 - Licorice Plant (Helichrysum): Lower Leaf Black Spots
We grew the licorice plant as part of an experiment at NC State University. During that time, we noted upon maturity tha...

Vol 3.11 - Take Crop Scouting To A New Level - ID & Eliminate The Source!
Early season crop scouting goes beyond just simple assessment of whats on the sticky card. Paying closer attention to th...

Vol 3.10 - Powdery Mildew on New Guinea Impatiens and Torenia
Powdery mildew is not a disease that has typically been a large concern for New Guinea impatiens crops, however we have ...

Vol 3.09 - Use Branching Agents Early to Improve Quality of Herbaceous Perennials
We've had recent inquiries from growers on how to improve branching of herbaceous perennials this season. Our most ...

Vol 3.08 - e-GRO University
In mid-2013 faculty from five different universities launched one of the latest facets of e-gro.org. e-GRO University is...

Vol 3.07 - Cultural and Troubleshooting guide to Clerodendrum
A new cultural and troubleshooting guide to Clerodendrum has been published by North Carolina State University's Fl...

Vol 3.06 - Bedding Plant Troubleshooting
The 2014 version of Bedding Plant Troubleshooting: Guide to Disease, Insect, Nutritional, and Physiological Disorders ha...

Vol 3.05 - pH Signs
While signs of high pH induced iron deficiency commonly occur, do you know what to look for when the substrate pH is too...

Vol 3.04 - More Ethephon Options
Collate is the new ethephon formulation registered in the U.S. by Fine Americas in January 2013. This is a concentrated ...

Vol 3.03 - Plectranthus eBook 2
North Carolina State University has partnered with the North Carolina Specialty Crops Research program, Dr. Matt Taylor ...

Vol 3.02 - Is Your Business Smart Phone Ready
Adult Smartphone Usage in the U.S. According to the Pew Research Center, 56% of U.S. adults owned a smartphone in 2013, ...

Vol 3.01 - Start of 2014 Season
Welcome to our third year of e-GRO Alert. We are back for the 2014 spring season. We have also added a new face, Dr. Sta...

Volume 2 (2013)      

Vol 2.26 - New Web-Based Supplemental Light Calculator (DLICALC)
Research at Purdue and other universities is showing the economic benefits of monitoring and managing the cumulative amo...

Vol 2.25 - Fertilization of 11 Vegetative Annuals
We grew a number of vegetative annuals this spring at NC State University to determine their response to fertilization r...

Vol 2.24 - Drought stress leads to flower abortion with bacopa. Avoiding water stress will enhance bacopas flower power.
Bacopa are quite sensitive to water stress, which results in flower bud abortion. ...

Vol 2.23 - Dragon Wing Begonia: Lower Leaf Necrotic Spots
Dragon Wing® begonias (Begonia x hybrida) are attractive plants which perform well in North Carolina<br>landscapes...

Vol 2.22 - Outfoxing Foxglove Aphid
In recent years foxglove aphid has surfaced as a more significant pest than ever. One Northeastern US survey found it to...

Vol 2.21 - Xanthomonas Bacterial Blight of Geranium and Look-A-Likes
Throughout this spring we've seen a few cases of suspected Xanthomonas hortorum pv. pelargonii (Xanthomonas campest...

Vol 2.20 - Managing Temperature and Light to Reduce Shrink and Increase Quality
What do angelonia, celosia, lantana, New Guinea Impatiens, pentas, portulaca, and vinca all have in common? They are all...

Vol 2.19 - Troubleshooting Calibrachoa
Calibrachoa is one of the most popular bedding plants across the country. They also can be a challenge to grow due to a ...

Vol 2.18 - Reduce Handling Losses
Crop shrinkage is one aspect of producing ornamental crops that I and my colleagues take seriously as Extension Speciali...

Vol 2.17 - Broad Mite Broadcast
Spring is here, judging from samples and calls to the Entomology Diagnostic Lab. Broad mite has been a common problem th...

Vol 2.16 - Comparing Concise Application Methods for Height Control of Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’
Rudbeckia Goldsturm is still a popular summer perennial but with the late spring plugs, these plants begin to stretch as...

Vol 2.15 - Coleus and Basil Downy Mildew
Impatiens downy mildew isn't the only downy mildew you need to worry about! There are other downy mildews to be con...

Vol 2.14 - Nemesia Troubleshooting
The major pests and disorders of Nemesia are discussed in this e-GRO Alert, which includes:<br><br>Iron Chlo...

Vol 2.13 - Improve Branching of Upright Sedums with PGRs
Some of our growers have given up on using Sedum liners, especially for the early spring production because they just ca...

Vol 2.12 - Bench Space is at a Premium
The idea of optimizing space by holding plants longer before spacing or transplanting is actually counterproductive....

Vol 2.11 - Zonal Geranium Chlorosis
As the weather warms up and light levels increase, growers producing zonal geraniums may discover chlorosis-like symptom...

Vol 2.10 - Improving the Rooting Success of Challenging Petunia Cultivars
Observations in commercial greenhouses strongly suggested nutrition during liner production could play a significant rol...

Vol 2.09 - A Mid-Season Punch-List
Remember, crop shrinkage is a profit killer. A simple 1% increase in total crop sales can equate to a 24% increase in yo...

Vol 2.08 - Thrips: Fight that the Living Dread
Spring is in the air … and so are thrips. They're out there, you know it, even if you don't see them. Like a b...

Vol 2.07 - Oxalis Rust
A grower called and reported red growth on the underside of oxalis leaves. The problem turned out to be rust (Puccinia o...

Vol 2.06 - Impatiens Downy Mildew – A Review
Impatiens downy mildew, caused by the pathogen Plasmopara obducens, has been a hot topic of conversation since last fall...

Vol 2.05 - Dahlias: Avoiding Tubers 2
Cutting or seed produced dahlias are wonderful spring bedding plants. As you prepare for this spring's production, ...

Vol 2.04 - Torenia: INSV
On my last trip visiting greenhouses, took notice of some nonpatented torenia (Torenia fournieri) stock plants. The plan...

Vol 2.03 - Get Your Echinacea off to an Early Start
This e-Gro Alert is to update you on the value of using Configure (BA, Fine Americas, Inc.) to improve the basal branchi...

Vol 2.02 - Dipladenia: Leaf Distortion
Distorted leaf growth can be the result of a number of different situations. Boron deficiency, 2,4-D type herbicide drif...

Vol 2.01 - e-GRO Alert Bulletin Year 2
Welcome to our second year of e-GRO Alert. The overwhelming positive response to the weekly problem update has been outs...

Volume 1 (2012)      

Vol 13.58 - Boost Your Roots: Enhance Rooting in Woody Nursery Plants with IBA
Woody nursery crops can be difficult to root from cuttings, especially when grown without rooting hormones, which can ca...

Vol 13.57 - Maximizing Holiday Sales: Innovative Display Strategies for Seasonal Plants and Décor
This e-GRO Alert provides comprehensive strategies for greenhouse growers and independent garden centers to optimize the...

Vol 13.56 - Don’t Let Fall Armyworms Cut into Fall Profits
Fall armyworms are common in turfgrass and landscape. While they are less common in the greenhouse they can cause extens...

Vol 13.55 - Remember Sulfur Isn’t in the Bag: Cal-Mag formulas lack S.
Although not a common occurrence, sulfur (S) deficiencies can appear. Assessing your sources of S and knowing how to dif...

Vol 13.54 - Slime Trails and Leaf Damage: Effective Strategies for Managing Slugs in Poinsettia Production
Slugs can cause significant damage to poinsettias grown in greenhouse environments, particularly when plants are placed ...

Vol 13.53 - “Sugar Translocators” — a fad diet or a true program for rooting?
 In this alert, we share the results of a project in which we evaluated a product labeled as a “sugar translocator” for ...

Vol 13.52 - Identification and Control of Birdeye Pearlwort (Sagina procumbens) in Greenhouse Container Production
 In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn how to identify Birdeye pearlwort and strategies to manage pearlwort inside gre...

Vol 13.51 - Pansy PGRs
Fall pansies are started during the heat of the summer and to avoid excessive growth, plant growth regulators are needed...

Vol 13.50 - The Highs and Lows of Pansy Nutritional Problems
Fall pansy production is a staple for many growers. While pansies are a quick crop, several nutritional problems can occ...

Vol 13.49 - Poking Around the Greenhouse
Fall is a great time to do a quick scouting outside the greenhouse for any unusual leaf mottling symptomology on weeds. ...

Vol 13.48 - Garden Mums: The Possibilities of Seeing Red
A common late season garden mum question is what is causing my plants to develop red leaves? In this Alert, we explore t...

Vol 13.47 - The Diseases Your Mum Warned You About
While both Fusarium spp. and Pythium spp. root rots can commonly plague a mum crop, during the past week a number of sit...

Vol 13.46 - Standout Varieties from the Michigan Garden Plant Tour
Flowers bloomed in every hue at the seven trial gardens around the state during the 2024 Michigan Garden Plant Tour....

Vol 13.45 - Organic Mulching: An Effective Non-chemical Weed Management Strategy
In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn what is organic mulch, the types of organic mulch that can be used in greenhouse...

Vol 13.44 - Lower Leaf Interveinal Chlorosis of Centaurea cineraria
A group of perennial dusty miller (Centaurea cineraria) plants developed interveinal chlorosis on the older leaves. The ...

Vol 13.43 - Maintaining Manganese: Pronounced Veination of Young Geranium Leaves
Summer hold-over plants offer the opportunity to view unique symptomology that rarely appears when plants are continuall...

Vol 13.42 - Do consumers prefer safe, sustainable, or nutritious veggies?
This publication illustrates the findings from a study conducted by the author and collaborators titled "Safe, Sust...

Vol 13.41 - Consumer Responses to Alternative Flatheaded Borer Control Methods
This e-GRO Alert discusses key findings from a study addressing U.S. consumers’ responses to alternative pest control me...

Vol 13.40 - It’s Obviously an Iron Problem, But Why?
Interveinal chlorosis of the new leaves usually means iron problems. A few scattered rosemary plants had symptoms and th...

Vol 13.39 - It's Complicated: Rosemary Boron Problems
Stubby, clubbed, and brittle new leaves are all typical symptoms of a boron deficiency. While the resulting symptomology...

Vol 13.38 - Zinnia: Missing Magnesium
Lower leaf interveinal chlorosis on zinnias was observed. This was due to limited magnesium (Mg) in the water supply an...

Vol 13.37 - Zinnia: Leaf Tips Gone Bad
The high humidity conditions of summer can lead to the development of leaf tip necrosis of zinnias. This situation is vi...

Vol 13.36 - Optimal Emitter Placement for Drip Irrigation During Summer Bedding Plant and Garden Mum Production
Proper placement and maintenance of drip emitters is crucial for uniform irrigation and optimal growth of summer bedding...

Vol 13.35 - Daphne: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
Leaf mottling and ringspots were observed on daphne (Daphne odora). These symptoms are typical of what occurs with a vi...

Vol 13.34 - Tomato: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
Tomato leaves with mottling and fruit with necrotic spotting and ringspots were observed on a plant. These symptoms are ...

Vol 13.33 - Strawflower: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
Leaf mottling and ringspots were observed on a crop of strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum). These symptoms are typical...

Vol 13.32 - Dialing in Diagnostics: Lettuce Leaf Tissue Standards
Revised leaf tissue nutrient standards for greenhouse lettuce published. ...

Vol 13.31 - Potato Leafhopper: On Beyond Spuds
This past week (late May) our field scouts and I started seeing the first pale green potato leafhoppers (PLH) in the fie...

Vol 13.30 - Marketing Plants for Outdoor Decorators
Pre-assembled containers and drop n’ go options are perfect for ‘outdoor decorator’ customers who are interested in part...

Vol 13.29 - Marigolds: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
White ringspots, leaf mottling, and leaf distortion were observed on a crop of marigolds. These symptoms are typical of...

Vol 13.28 - Considerations When Selecting a Water-soluble Fertilizer
Selecting a fertilizer is one of the first steps to a successful growing season and can help avoid many problems later. ...

Vol 13.27 - Greenhouse Adventures: Focusing on Scouting
This spring has been relatively low key for greenhouse production issues. This Alert highlights some of the scattered pr...

Vol 13.26 - Nostoc: Managing Algae and Moss Inside Greenhouses
In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn what is algae and moss and how to manage them in the greenhouse production syste...

Vol 13.25 - Garden center displays to increase foot traffic
The following e-GRO Alert discusses retail garden center display considerations for encouraging in-store foot traffic....

Vol 13.24 - Do Taller Pots Hold More Water?
How does the pot height affect the water holding capacity of a pot?...

Vol 13.23 - Coleus Downy Mildew Is Out and About
This Alert reviews how to recognize coleus downy mildew and provides some tips on management....

Vol 13.22 - Micronutrient deficiency-induced Interveinal chlorosis on schizanthus
Late in production, this schizanthus crop developed interveinal chlorosis. It didn’t just require a quick diagnosis- it ...

Vol 13.21 - Hydrangea Leaf Distortion: 2024 Sponsors Hydrangea Ringspot Virus confirmed
A recent eGRO alert on “How to Deal with Diagnosis” (https://www.e-gro.org/pdf/2024-13-18.pdf), stre...

Vol 13.20 - PGRs: Where to Start
Many greenhouse growers regularly use plant growth regulators or retardants (PGRs) to elicit desirable crop responses. T...

Vol 13.19 - Biostimulants for Greenhouse Ornamental Crop Production
This article provides an overview of what biostimulants are, how they can improve the quality of greenhouse ornamental c...

Vol 13.18 - How to Deal with Diagnosis
Correctly identifying the cause of a problem is the first step in effective and economic management practices. Learn so...

Vol 13.17 - Much Ado About (a) Thrips
Managing this new pest partly depends on recognizing it and choosing effective controls, informed by data from recent re...

Vol 13.16 - Daminozide Dilemmas: Avoiding Flower Bleaching in Spring Bedding Plants
Daminozide is a widely used plant growth retardant (PGR) for producing compact spring flowering bedding plants; however,...

Vol 13.15 - Know Before You Grow
What nutrients are in your substrate? ...

Vol 13.14 - Relearning How to Grow: Substrates
With recent challenges in substrate availability growers must modify their watering, fertility, and growing practices to...

Vol 13.13 - Petunia Purpling Problems
From rooting to finishing, there are a wide range of reasons why petunias may display purple discoloration. However, the...

Vol 13.12 - Magnificent Magnesium
Why maintaining magnesium is important. ...

Vol 13.11 - Fern-feeding Caterpillars
Are your ferns failing to fill out as they have in past years? The culprit could be the larval stage of the Florida fern...

Vol 13.10 - Safeguarding Overwintering Structures and Greenhouses from Rodent Infestations
Overwintering structures and heated greenhouses create an ideal habitat for rodents, posing a challenge for growers who ...

Vol 13.09 - US Consumer Motivations Driving Native Plant Sales
The following e-GRO Alert discusses US consumers motivations for incorporating native plants into their gardens and land...

Vol 13.08 - Sanitation: A Culture to be Established & Nurtured
Description: Sanitation is the process of cleaning an area to protect plant health and staff safety. When sanitation fa...

Vol 13.07 - Mastering the Mix with Strategic Crop Groupings
Strategically grouping greenhouse crops based on their environmental or cultural requirements ensures successful growth ...

Vol 13.06 - Perennial Powerhouse: Unlock More with the New PGR Guide
The latest edition of the Plant Growth Regulator Guide for Containerized Herbaceous Perennial Plants is now available....

Vol 13.05 - Swish-Swish: Dipping Unrooted Vegetative Cuttings to Reduce Incoming Pest Populations
Dipping unrooted vegetative cuttings in biopesticides has been shown to be effective at reducing whitefly, thrips, and s...

Vol 13.04 - Ironing Out: Problems in a Petunia Crop
Interveinal chlorosis of the upper foliage is a common problem in petunia production. However, this can be a result of m...

Vol 13.03 - Mind the Mist: Petunias
During propagation, mist management is the key to quick rooting. Excessive moisture will result in slower rooting and th...

Vol 13.02 - Phosphorus Has 2 Ps
When phosphorus is deficient, the classical symptom we all learn is lower leaf purpling. With warmer growing temperature...

Vol 13.01 - Quick Check for Spring
 Use this quick checklist to help prevent spring season issues. ...

Vol 12.42 - Traditional and Digital Diagnostic Tools of the Trade
This alert covers commonly used tools used to examine and identify insect pests and disease organisms of horticultural c...

Vol 12.41 - Micronutrient Madness: Basil
Lower leaf necrosis can occur as a result of excessive micronutrient applications. To confirm the diagnosis of a toxic c...

Vol 12.40 - Geranium TSWV
Three geranium plants were observed with ring spots and upper-leaf mottling. These were typical signs of a viral infecti...

Vol 12.39 - Going Viral
This Alert is a photographic guide to viruses found on a wide array species during the 2023 production season and will a...

Vol 12.38 - Begonias Gone Viral
The host range for both impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is vast. Just as the p...

Vol 12.37 - Squirrelly Snapdragon Growth
Problematic snapdragon plants with spindly growth, blotchy yellow leaf batches, and lower leaf drop on only one cultivar...

Vol 12.36 - Mimics: Mexican Sunflower
Upon inspection of some problematic Mexican sunflower plants with lower leaf interveinal chlorosis and purplish-black co...

Vol 12.35 - The Mitey Marigold
French marigolds offer excellent color and can be grown in a wide range of USDA hardiness zones. While French marigolds ...

Vol 12.34 - Ironing Out Problems in Pansies
Interveinal chlorosis of the upper foliage is a common problem in pansy production. However, this can be a result of man...

Vol 12.33 - Verifying the Proper Function of Fertilizer Injectors
Providing the right amount of fertilizer is fundamental to achieve high quality crops. In this Alert, we present two met...

Vol 12.32 - A Sticky Subject: Yellow Sticky Cards
In this Alert, we provide an overview of how to use and monitor yellow sticky cards to monitor pests in the greenhouse....

Vol 12.31 - A Quick Review of Poinsettia Powdery Mildew
Powdery mildew can spread rapidly once the conditions are favorable and an epidemic can be devastating to a poinsettia c...

Vol 12.30 - Using Plant Benefit Information to Engage Customers
This e-GRO Alert provides insights gained from research on U.S. consumer responses to plant benefit information in retai...

Vol 12.29 - The Slimy Weed of Greenhouse
In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn how to identify and manage Nostoc in the greenhouse production system...

Vol 12.28 - Who is Benefiting from Online Advertising in the Environmental Horticulture Industry?
This publication highlights the findings of a research article titled “Evaluating the Business and Owner Characteristics...

Vol 12.27 - Plant a Caterpillar Garden!
Last spring my Assistant Entomologist and I were asked to speak about butterflies to a garden group. Before getting on w...

Vol 12.26 - Common Groundsel: A Problematic Weed Species
In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn how to identify common groundsel in their greenhouses for container production...

Vol 12.25 - Get the 4-1-1 on Social Media for Garden Retailers
Engaging and inspiring consumers through social media can build trust and loyalty and drive sales....

Vol 12.24 - Dahlias: Getting More Popular With People (and Pests)
The popularity of dahlias only seems to increase; our summer and fall tourists snap up irresistible cut flower bouquets ...

Vol 12.23 - Developing an Emergency Action Plan for Your Greenhouse Operation
Are you prepared in the event of an emergency? Invest time in developing an emergency action plan for your operation –be...

Vol 12.22 - Chloromequat chloride-induced chlorosis on osteospermum
Chlorosis can be a concerning thing to see in the greenhouse, since it can be a symptom of a variety of biotic and abiot...

Vol 12.21 - Avoiding Ammonium Toxicity is Easy!
Pansies are selling, so why talk about a production issue that is frequently observed during the winter and early spring...

Vol 12.20 - TSWV and INSV on annual bedding plants
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) and Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) causing light or darkly colored ringspots symp...

Vol 12.19 - Controlling spotted spurge in greenhouse container production
In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn how to identify and manage spotted spurge in their greenhouses for container pro...

Vol 12.18 - Environmental Gardening Practices & Native Plant Purchasers
Consumer interest in native plants and their participation in environmentally friendly gardening practices is discussed....

Vol 12.17 - Sunflowers: Insects Like Them Too!
Everyone loves sunny sunflowers, judging from their growing popularity and diversity as a cut flower....

Vol 12.16 - The Support Beginning Farmers Need for Adopting New Technologies
This publication illustrates the findings from a study conducted by the author titled Exploring the adoption of technolo...

Vol 12.15 - Recognizing and Preventing Phytotoxicity
Sometimes products used for pest or disease management can end up injuring the crops they are meant to help. Learn how ...

Vol 12.14 - Chronic Underwatering of Gerbera Daisy
Growth control is a great thing…when it happens on purpose. Inadvertently growing containerized gerbera dry for extended...

Vol 12.13 - Proper Application of Controlled-Release Fertilizers
Controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) can be either incorporated or top-dressed for containerized crop production. Prope...

Vol 12.12 - Fusarium crown and stem rot of Echeveria
It is important to accurately identify the cause of plant disease. Fusarium infection of Echeveria causes a "dry ro...

Vol 12.11 - The Pros and Cons of Indoor Plant Production Facilities
The most compelling reason for growing in an indoor plant production facility is the complete control of the growth envi...

Vol 12.10 - Wet, Overcast Conditions Leads to Disease Problems
Cold, wet, and overcast conditions have created problems, particularly with Pythium root rot and Botrytis blight, in ear...

Vol 12.09 - Leaf Spot on Calibrachoa
Calibrachoas with a concern of a virus disease were scouted. Thankfully, no virus infection was detected, however Cercos...

Vol 12.08 - Improving Rooting Uniformity with Rooting Hormones
Many growers propagate unrooted cuttings, but propagation success varies among species, cultivars, and environmental con...

Vol 12.07 - Growing Talent: Creating a Mutually Beneficial Internship Program
Internship programs ensure that there is new talent and passion coming into the floriculture industry and, hopefully, yo...

Vol 12.06 - Shasta Daisy: Undifferentiated Basal Growth
Shasta daisy were observed to have a large growth mass near the stem base. This symptom was likely the result of a rhodo...

Vol 12.05 - Stachys byzantina: Sclerotinia (White Mold)
Stachys leaf dieback and upon careful investigation leaves with a pronounced white, cottony growth (mycelium) were obser...

Vol 12.04 - Rudbeckia: Sclerotinia (White Mold)
Rudbeckia plant collapse and leaves with a pronounced white, cottony growth (mycelium) were observed. Along with the di...

Vol 12.03 - PGR Guide for Annuals Published
The latest version of the Plant Growth Regulator Guide for Annuals is now available, a project sponsored by Fine America...

Vol 12.02 - Utilizing Color Psychology in the Greenhouse and Garden Center
Color psychology or the study of how color influences human behavior and feelings can assist with the planning of croppi...

Vol 12.01 - (Re)Discovering Floriculture History
The path of discovery can take many twists and turns, and the journey may take multiple years. New online resources help...

Vol 11.36 - The Irony of Overwatering
Interveinal chlorosis of the upper foliage can develop based on a number of conditions. Excessive irrigation can limit ...

Vol 11.35 - Bacterial soft rot causing death of succulents
Bacterial soft rot occurs sporadically in ornamental production, but when it does, it can be very damaging and cause sig...

Vol 11.34 - Did We Need Another Phytophthora? Did Mums Need Another Disease?
Phytophthora chrysanthemi causes stunting, purpling, and death of foliage, on one major branch or the whole plant; root ...

Vol 11.33 - Poinsettia Mosaic Virus (PnMV)
**ALERT AVAILABLE SOON Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) with distorted growth and light green mottling amongst leave...

Vol 11.32 - Mites Under Lights
Sweet potatoes are vegetatively propagated from stock plants primarily in the spring for summer planting and prefer warm...

Vol 11.31 - Encountering Eriophyid Mites on Coneflower and Other Ornamentals
What are eriophyid mites? Eriophyid mites (family Eriophyidae) affect a wide variety of plants and are known as gall, bl...

Vol 11.30 - Controlling yellow woodsorrel in greenhouse container production
 In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn how to identify and manage yellow woodsorrel in their greenhouses for container...

Vol 11.28 - Keep an eye out for Rhizoctonia web blight
Description: Warmer, humid conditions within greenhouses and outdoor production areas, especially as plant canopies clos...

Vol 11.27 - Alternanthera Mosaic Virus (AltMV)
Samples of portulaca showing distorted leaf edges and chlorotic spots were diagnosed with Alternanthera mosaic virus (Al...

Vol 11.26 - New Guinea Impatiens: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV)
Necrotic spotting and ringspots were observed on while visiting a grower. These symptoms are typical of what occurs wit...

Vol 11.25 - Heat Stress and Injury of High Tunnel Grown Bedding Plants
High tunnel bedding plant production can be successful, yet risky because plants may be exposed to undesirable temperatu...

Vol 11.24 - Tarnished plant bug
Among the more frustrating pests for flower growers, tarnished plant bug often arrives suddenly and undetected, until th...

Vol 11.23 - Identification and Management of Hairy Bittercress in Greenhouses
 In this e-GRO alert, growers will learn how to identify and manage hairy bittercress in their greenhouses for container...

Vol 11.22 - Hottest Plant Varieties from the 2021 Michigan Plant Trials
MSU and five cooperating young plant growers in the Michigan Garden Plant Tour trialed varieties last summer and chose t...

Vol 11.21 - It’s the Pictures that Got Big: Choosing a Microscope for Business (or Pleasure)
What have you’ve been missing? You can see it under the microscope! Here are simple tips for buying an inexpensive stere...

Vol 11.20 - Chili Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (CPMMoV)
CPMMoV can cause mottling, flower break, necrotic spots, and/or general stunt and is being seen on calibrachoas thi...

Vol 11.19 - Bacterial Blight on Geraniums, again.
Bacterial blight on geraniums (Figure1), caused by Xanthomonas hortorum pv. pelargonii, is back this growing season. In ...

Vol 11.18 - Recognizing and Preventing Viral Diseases in the Greenhouse.
This alert features key strategies for growers to consider and discuss when managing plant viruses in the greenhouse....

Vol 11.17 - Factors Impacting Business and Marketing Strategies Used by Landscape Firms
The following e-GRO Alert highlights factors impacting business strategies and marketing channels used by firms that inc...

Vol 11.16 - Something Different: Leafhoppers in the Greenhouse
About 15 years ago a greenhouse grower contacted me about small (< 3mm) leafhoppers causing pale stippling on rosemar...

Vol 11.15 - 2022 Insect and Disease Management Recommendations.
Each year, Dr. Mary Hausbeck and Dr. Dave Smitley at Michigan State University release updated insecticide, miticide, an...

Vol 11.14 - Blackleg of Geranium
Geranium plants with black stems and leaf petioles, wilt, and overall plant collapse were observed. This Alert describes...

Vol 11.13 - Fusarium wilt of Cyclamen
Not all root and crown rots are the same. Yellowing, wilting foliage on cyclamen could be Fusarium wilt. ...

Vol 11.12 - Pericallis: Diagnosing Lower Leaf Interveinal Chlorosis and Necrosis
Lower leaf interveinal chlorosis and necrotic spotting on pericallis caused by low potassium (K) levels are diagnosed....

Vol 11.11 - Gray Mold Prevention Starts with Air Movement
Air movement is critical in greenhouse environments to limit diseases like gray mold. Good air movement and proper venti...

Vol 11.10 - Are there Risks of Working under LED Supplemental Lighting?
There are potential health risks associated with exposure to both solar radiation and electric light sources used for in...

Vol 11.09 - Premature flowering in annual bedding plants
Getting bedding plants into flower for sales is an important part of spring crop production. However, premature flowerin...

Vol 11.08 - Jar Test: Determining Fertilizer Solubility and Compatibility
Not all fertilizers are compatible when mixed to formulate stock solutions. Using the jar test will help determine ferti...

Vol 11.07 - Coleus Insect Photo Guide
This e-GRO Alert provides a photographic guide to coleus insects. ...

Vol 11.06 - Coleus Disease Photo Guide
This e-GRO Alert provides a photographic guide to coleus diseases. ...

Vol 11.05 - Coleus Physiological Disorder Photo Guide
This e-GRO Alert provides a photographic guide to coleus physiological disorders. ...

Vol 11.04 - Coleus Nutritional Disorder Photo Guide
This e-GRO Alert provides a photographic guide to coleus nutritional disorders. ...

Vol 11.03 - Hitting the IBA Sweet Spot to Improve Rooting
The use of IBA improves rooting efficiency, but too much can be detrimental. This Alert helps to diagnose excessive rate...

Vol 11.02 - Plant Growth Regulator Guide for Herbaceous Perennials Update
The latest edition of the Plant Growth Regulator Guide for Containerized Herbaceous Perennial Plants is now available. T...

Vol 11.01 - Cheers to Ten Years!
Electronic Grower Resources Online (e-GRO) is beginning its 11th season in 2022....

Vol 10.38 - Pansy problems: Leaf spot, powdery mildew, and Myrothecium crown rot
Pansies and violas are affected by numerous plant diseases including black root rot, Pythium root rot, powdery mildew, B...

Vol 10.37 - Unusual Leaf Spot on Poinsettia
While not commonly encountered on poinsettias, Corynespora cassiicola can cause brown leaf spots on leaves and bracts in...

Vol 10.36 - Poinsettia Leaf and Stem Abnormalities
Given that poinsettias are propagated during the hottest months of the year and have a very long production time, they a...

Vol 10.34 - Dodder (Cuscuta spp.): Orange, spaghetti-like growth
Dodder is a parasitic weed with orange, spaghetti-like growth that entwines around plants. ...

Vol 10.33 - Ornamental Cabbage and Kale Water Stress
Excessive wilting of the plants will result in lower leaf yellow and leaf drop. ...

Vol 10.32 - Ornamental Cabbage and Kale Coloration Tips
Coloration of ornamental cabbage and kale is primarily influenced by temperature. A few production practices can help en...

Vol 10.31 - Summer Weather Patterns Can Influence Irrigation Water Quality
Weather conditions and drought can affect the quality of your irrigation water. Increased alkalinity levels in your irri...

Vol 10.30 - Root Rot in Garden Mums
Small and off-color mums may be a sign of root rot. ...

Vol 10.29 - Plants Gone Crazy
What is fascinating with fasciation?...

Vol 10.28 - Garden Mums: Crown Buds Induced by Cool Night Temperatures
Fall garden mum production typically occurs outdoors exposing plants to seasonal environmental conditions. When plants a...

Vol 10.27 - The green you do not want in the greenhouse: Algae
Brief description: A review about practices and products to control algae in greenhouses. ...

Vol 10.26 - White Rust on Portulaca
White rust is not a true rust nor a fungal disease. It is an oomycete disease, and it was recently seen infecting moss-r...

Vol 10.25 - Taking a More Holistic Approach to Fungus Gnat Management
Fungus gnats can impact crop quality and spread Pythium in greenhouses...

Vol 10.24 - Pandemic Assistance Programs for Greenhouses and Nurseries
Nearly all floriculture and nursery operations have been impacted by the pandemic. Learn more about USDA programs that c...

Vol 10.23 - Leaf-Curling Plum Aphid: A Pest to Watch
Leaf-curling plum aphid, Brachycaudus helichrysi, can cause distortion, stunting of new growth on plants in the Asterace...

Vol 10.22 - White Mold (Sclerotinia) on Coleus
Description: Coleus plants with white cottony-like growth, stem and leaf rot, and small, hard, black sclerotia were ob...

Vol 10.21 - Scouting and Treatment of Gray Mold in Greenhouse Crops
Peak color in the greenhouse coincides with cloudy, damp weather that creates a favorable environment for the fungus Bot...

Vol 10.20 - Begonia and Vinca Sensitivity to Paclobutrazol
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) can be successfully used to control growth or induce lateral branching of many bedding pl...

Vol 10.19 - Prevent Chilling Injury
The pandemic, coupled with the cold winter has consumers demanding annuals, herb, and vegetable transplants weeks before...

Vol 10.18 - GR Drenches for Growth Control
Trying to control the growth of all your different spring crops can be a challenge. With so much diversity in our greenh...

Vol 10.17 - Lily Basal Rot
Lily basal rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lilii can cause crop losses in Easter Lilies....

Vol 10.16 - Plant Disease Resistance, Reviewed
Defining and understanding plant resistance, susceptibility, immunity....

Vol 10.15 - Troubleshooting Ipomoea
Warm season annuals such as ipomoea can be challenged with cloudy weather. ...

Vol 10.14 - Ask an Entomologist
With the pandemic has come even greater demand for diagnostic lab support. Read about some recent issues and what some e...

Vol 10.13 - Bacterial leaf spot diseases are prevalent in wet greenhouses
Wet, humid, overcast weather outside favors plant disease development inside greenhouses because plant foliage and soil ...

Vol 10.12 - Cashing in on the Top Four Gardening Motivations of 2020
The spring of 2021 is here! During 2020, despite a very difficult start, many plant retailers had an excellent year – ev...

Vol 10.11 - Interpreting Water Quality Analysis Reports
The quality of irrigation water is crucial to develop nutrient programs that are compatible with the crops’ needs. In th...

Vol 10.10 - PourThru Method for Large Containerized Crops
The PourThru method is a great procedure to determine the nutritional status of containerized crops. This Alert outlines...

Vol 10.09 - Sampling Irrigation Water for Routine Lab Analysis
Irrigation sampling is an important nutrient monitoring practice to determine water quality such as pH, electrical condu...

Vol 10.08 - _Elevated EC Symptomology
Lower leaf necrosis can develop in stevia if the substrate electrical conductivity (EC) is elevated....

Vol 10.07 - Stevia: High Substrate pH
Stevia can develop interveinal chlorosis of the upper foliage if the substrate pH is too high....

Vol 10.06 - Calonectria root, crown, and cutting rots are less common, but just as damaging
Besides the more common pathogens causing root disease in greenhouse crops, there are other lesser known but equally d...

Vol 10.05 - Aphids in Unexpected Places
Over the past year I had some interesting samples of and questions about aphids, so as winter transitions to spring I’ll...

Vol 10.04 - Who Said That Pansies Were Easy?
Pansies would seem to be an uncomplicated or easy crop….but then the leaves started to yellow….....

Vol 10.03 - Powdery Mildew on Succulents Is Not What You Would Expect
Powdery mildew on succulents can appear more like sun scald or edema. In this alert, we will show you what to look for a...

Vol 10.02 - PGR Guide for Annuals
The 72-page Plant Growth Regulator Guide for Annuals publication has been updated for the 2021-2022 season. ...

Vol 10.01 - Sampling Substrates for Routine or Diagnostic Lab Analysis
Substrate sampling for routine or diagnostic lab analysis is an important nutrient monitoring practice to assess substra...

Vol 1.20 - New Multi-Touch iPad-Based Books
Details of new iPad-based books available from E-GRO<br>...

Vol 1.19 - Tis The Season to Protect Your Mums From Rust
Cooler weather signals various things in the world of floriculture - for mum growers it signals that it is time to think...

Vol 1.18 - Hanging Baskets Problems
Hanging baskets are an important part of most greenhouses' crop mix; they provide a lot of WOW factor for customers...

Vol 1.17 - Two-Spotted Spider Mites and Edema on Geranium
Geraniums showing chlorosis and necrosis on the foliage were seen, and on some leaves these symptoms were wedge-shaped. ...

Vol 1.16 - Broad Mites on New Guinea Impatiens
Not too many cases of broad mites have been seen over the past couple of years, though this season we've seen a cou...

Vol 1.15 - Water Management - More an Art Than a Science.
I think every seasoned grower will agree with me that watering is one, of if not the most difficult task to master as a ...

Vol 1.14 - Late Season Magnesium (Mg) Deficiencies
The higher than normal temperatures this spring means that the irrigation demand of bedding plants has been increased.&l...

Vol 1.13 - Sampling and Submitting Greenhouse Substrate, Irrigation Water and Tissue for Analysis
Routine sampling of your greenhouse crops growing substrate, irrigation water, fertilizer solution, and tissue can be us...

Vol 1.12 - Petunia Powdery Mildew
Recently a grower called asking about petunia rooted cuttings and recently transplanted petunias with lower leaf discolo...

Vol 1.11 - PGR Mix Master - PGR App For Your Mobile Device
Calculating PGR dilutions can be a stumbling block for many individuals, and for many years growers have been able to us...

Vol 1.10 - Gerbera - Lower Leaf Black Spotting
Received an email from a Midwest sales representative. One of his clients had a gerbera crop with blackish-purple spots ...

Vol 1.09 - Flower Induction of Long-day Annuals for Early Spring Sales
We all know that color sells annual bedding plants. However, growers often struggle inducing certain long-day bedding pl...

Vol 1.08 - Downy Mildew of Impatiens
One of the diseases that many are talking about this season is downy mildew of impatiens. <br><br>Fortunatel...

Vol 1.07 - Kalanchoes: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
Diagnosis, management, and actions to take are included in this Alert. ...

Vol 1.06 - Non-Stop Begonias: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV)
Diagnosis, management, and actions to take are included in this Alert. ...

Vol 1.05 - Injector Maintenance
Fertilizer injectors are one of those tools that we use everyday and we expect them to work when we turn on the hose, no...

Vol 1.04 - Shining Some Light on Young Plant Production
If you have watched the weather forecast recently, you have undoubtedly heard that much of the U.S. has experienced reco...

Vol 1.03 - Troubleshooting Petunia Disorders
A new publication is available to growers to help you problem solve insect, disease, nutritional, and physiological diso...

Vol 1.02 - Dahlia Photoperiod
Cutting or seed produced dahlias are wonderful spring bedding plants. As you prepare for this spring's production, ...

Vol 1.01 - Welcome to e-GRO Alert!
Floriculture Extension Specialists at Cornell University, Purdue University, North Carolina State University, and Univer...