Tag: agtech

rhizoctonia tomato stem

Pathogen Profile: Rhizoctonia solani

Rhizoctonia solani What is Rhizoctonia solani? The fungus Rhizoctonia solani is a soilborne pathogen that spreads in wet and warm conditions. It infects many economically vital plants—including greenhouse vegetables, ornamentals, and field crops [1, 2]. Crops affected by this pathogen include peppers, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, rice, soybeans, wheat, lilies and turf grass. In fact, it […]
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field vs vertical lettuce

Hydroponic vs. Soil Cultivation

Hydroponic vs. Soil Cultivation Hydroponic farming mitigates many issues and stressors that traditional farmers face. These issues can include reliance on the weather, soil erosion, poor drainage, and unsuitable soil compaction or nutrient density. Hydroponic farming allows for less usage of water than irrigation systems. Hydroponics not only recycle water, but its controlled system will […]
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Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus lettuce

Pathogen Profile: Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus

Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus An emerging threat to greenhouse vegetables Impatiens necrotic spot virus first emerged in floriculture and nursery crops [1] and is now affecting and causing considerable losses to these greenhouse-grown vegetable crops such as cucumber, tomato, pepper, and lettuce [2]. An economic analysis done on two lettuce growers in the Salinas Valley […]
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ralstonia bacterial wilt tomato potato

Pathogen Profile: Ralstonia solanacearum

Ralstonia solanacearum What is Ralstonia solanacearum? The bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum is a Gram-negative, soil-borne bacterial pathogen that causes bacterial wilt and brown rot in potatoes. This bacterium belongs to a complex of four groups called phylotypes. These groups are known as the R. solanacearum species complex (RSSC). Each group is dominant in a geographical […]
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cgc 2022 banner

Healthy Hydroponics at CGC 2022

Healthy Hydroponics at CGC 2022 The Canadian Greenhouse Conference is one of the most important conferences for anyone in the indoor agriculture industry. CGC is regarded as “Canada’s foremost event for commercial greenhouse flower, vegetable, cannabis, berry and nursery growers” (1) because of the quality of the exhibits and the number of people that come […]
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fusarium in banana root

Pathogen Profile: Fusarium oxysporum

What is Fusarium oxysporum? Fusarium oxysporum is a fungus which can cause root rot, crown rot and, most commonly, wilting in a wide variety of crops such as basil, lettuce, cannabis and tomatoes (Figure 1). Wilting caused by F. oxysporum is known as Fusarium wilt and is a common culprit in field agriculture but is […]
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rugose tomatoes ready to be discarded

Tackling ToBRFV in Hydroponic Systems

Tackling ToBRFV in hydronic systems Most tomato growers have become very familiar with the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV). A few months ago, we published a blog post about the damage the virus is causing worldwide. Between then and now, we developed a qPCR test called Pathogen Mini to help detect the virus in […]
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The Benefits of Microbial Beneficials for Plants

Beneficial microbes have been the talk of the town over the past few years, but what are they and how do they work? This post dives into the world of microbial beneficials and what that means for the health of your crops. What are beneficial bacteria? Beneficial bacteria are naturally occurring bacteria typically found in […]
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Figure 3. Powdery mildew on watermelon leaves, caused by Sphaerotheca fuliginea, Erysiphe cichoracearum. 

Pathogen Profile: Podosphaera xanthii

What is Podosphaera xanthii? Podosphaera xanthii is a pathogenic fungus which causes “powdery mildew” on plants, especially cucurbits [1]. The naming of this fungus is not standardized, and you may also know it as Podosphaera fusca, Sphaerotheca fuliginea or Sphaerotheca fusca [1]. In addition to P. xanthii, powdery mildew is caused by many other fungal […]
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Healthy Hydroponics at the Cultivate'22 Main sign

Healthy Hydroponics at Cultivate’22

Healthy Hydroponics at Cultivate’22 Cultivate’22 by AmericanHort is one of the greenhouse industry’s must-go events! We are proud to have exhibited beside well-known agricultural companies answer learned so much from industry experts. Let’s look back at some of the highlights of our trip! Cultivate’22 is a world-class trade show where equipment manufacturers, suppliers, solution providers, […]
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