Hillsborough County Agriculture Pesticide Collection 10/21/26, 07:00-11:30

 

The Fall Agriculture Pesticide Collection will be held Wednesday Oct. 21^st at the SE County Landfill (15960 C.R. 672, Lithia). Outdated, suspended, or otherwise unusable liquid or solid agricultural pesticides will be accepted. No fertilizers, fumigants, or household hazardous waste will be accepted. The Ag Pesticide Collection is made possible with a grant from the Hillsborough County EPC, Pollution Recovery Fund.  This is a great way to clean up that pesticide shed of all those unused products. If you have any questions, please call Simon Bollin at 813-853-1086.

Grower Talks Insecticide, Miticide, and Fungicide Guide 2027

Grower Talks just released their Insecticide Miticide, and Fungicide Guide for 2027.  Here is the link.  IMF_2027_Guide.pdf  This is a great resource to have around the farm.  Not only are there good references to the chemicals to protect your plants but there are some good articles on dealing with weeds, mealybugs, and Two-spotted cotton leaf hoppers. There is also an interesting article on high root zone temperatures.  It is like they read our Extension mind.  We just received an FDACS BMP grant to demonstrate the use of white pots to minimize high root zone temperatures.  This demonstration work is a collaboration between Manatee, Miami-Dade, and Hillsborough Counties as soon as funding is released.  So stay tuned! 

Super El Niño and What to Expect for Plant Producers in Central Florida

 

This year climatologists are predicting a “Super” El Niño event in the Pacific.  So what does that matter to the nursery industry in Central Florida?  Well two very strong El Niño events occurred in 1982-83 and 1997-1998 and caused an estimated $4.1 and $5.7 trillion in global economic losses respectively, over five years (Callahan and Mankin, 2023).  But we can dive a little deeper into what happened in our area for some insight from previous events and maybe make some possible predictions for the coming few quarters ahead.

There were a couple of other strong El Niño events; 1997-1998 and 1982-83 that were very similar that we can learn from. During the months of November there was a much wetter weather pattern than our usually drier Fall month.  The succeeding months, there were frequent storm systems crossing the Gulf Coast and Florida, bringing increased cloud cover and rain.   There was also localized flooding and high-water levels in lakes and ponds.  Some areas experienced record rainfall including Tampa with 15 inches in the month of December.  In the month of February in 1998, we had our most deadly tornado outbreak in the history of the state and experienced the wettest periods of the El Nino events.  Usually in March the systems weaken and water levels in the ground and in local water bodies remain high.

As far as temperatures are concerned, in 1997 -1998 there were a few days with high 30’s and low 40’s but no freezes.  In 1982-1983 there were a handful of freeze events and a few frost days.  Generally, during El Niño the temperatures are cooler than normal but that is generated from more cloud cover than from arctic blasts.

So how can we use this information to make business decisions?  What comes to my mind is fertilizer and plant growth.  Fertilizer will release slower with cool weather but leach with high rainfall.  Another thing to think about is plant growth.  With cloudy, wet days, plant stretch; with rain more fungal pathogens and root rots can occur.  Maybe you add a bit more drainage or bark to the mix to help compensate.  You might get your fungicide program up to date.  You might make sure drainage ways and ditches are cleared and water levels in holding ponds are tolerable of heavy rains.

Another thing to think about is labor--yours and your customer’s in rainy weather.  Can you get into the field to do the work you need to do? Labor may move slower in wet weather. Depending on your sales channels it might mean customers may not be out shopping and doing landscaping projects.  Another thing is labor for pulling winter weeds, which might increase with a leaching of herbicides.

There are some benefits from this weather pattern.  Less irrigation and pumping costs and generally less freezes to worry about. As with any good manager, you can take this information and add it to your decision-making process. 

References

Callahan, C.; Mankin, J. S. (2023). "Persistent effect of El Niño on global economic growth". Science. 380 (6649): 1064–1069. Retrieved 09, Oct. 2026.

Photo Credit UF/IFAS Extension Tyler Jones

Regional Nursery Growers Meeting

On November 12, 2026, UF/IFAS Extension will be holding a regional nursery grower meeting at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, FL.  The meeting starts at 08:30 and will end at 14:00.  Lunch and CEUs will be provided.  This is a great time to catch up with what UF researchers and extension agents have been doing, what is happening in the pesticide industry, and what other growers are doing. Here is a tentative schedule of events.   You can register here for $20.00 + fees.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nursery-grower-update-tickets-2002221630796

Meeting Agenda

8:30–9:00 – Registration 
9:00–9:30 – Jeb Fields: Container Soil Stratification- How this improves plant growth 
9:30–10:00 – Chris Marble: Weeds/herbicides 
10:00–10:15 – Break 
10:15–10:45 – Three-location demonstration trial results, compost and stratification  
10:45–11:15 – Syngenta Chemical Pesticide Updates 
11:15–11:45 – BASF Pesticide Updates
11:45–12:30 – Lunch 
12:30–1:00 – Chemical rep 3 
1:00–1:30 – EPA's Bulletin Live 2- Mandatory web check before spraying  

1:30–2:00 – Discussion/wrap-up

Core And Private/Ag Row Crop Pesticide License Preparation Class

 

UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County is hosting a Core and Private/Ag Row Pesticide Exam Training Course on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 9:00 am at the Extension Office Location in Seffner, FL.  The cost is $60.00 for the class.

The Core training is needed by all license types.  The Private Exam Prep portion of the class will help you review to pass the Private Applicator Exam or the Ag Row Crop Pesticide License.  With both tests passed, you will be able to apply restricted-use pesticides on your property or that of your employers.  This license also allows teaching ag employees the mandatory EPA Worker Protection Standards.

If you have a Private Applicator or Ag Row License, then this class gives you 2 Core CEUs and 2 Private/Ag Row CEUs for your license renewal.  Here is a link below to register and more information. Please call Shawn if you need any special accommodations at the Extension Office.  Here is the link to register: Pesticide Prep Class Link

Nursery Leadership Wanted

Simon Bolin the Agribusiness Development Manager is looking for a nursery leader in Hillsborough County to serve the industry and the agriculture community.  If you have an interest, please read the following form Simon... 

The Agricultural Economic Development Council initiates and assists with efforts to create a business atmosphere that is conducive to the continuation and expansion of agricultural businesses within Hillsborough County for the benefit of all its residents. The AEDC has representatives from all the major agricultural sectors including the nursery industry. The AEDC will typically have meetings quarterly. Contact Simon Bollin, Agribusiness Development Manager c: 813-853-1086, e: bollins@HCFL.gov with any questions.

2025 Hillsborough and Polk County's Annual Ornamental Production Estimates

The ornamental horticulture nursery and greenhouse industry contracted again for the fourth year in a row in 2025 in both Hillsborough and Polk Counties in Florida.  Hillsborough County growers produced an estimated $172 million in nursery and greenhouse plants.  This decreased 1.1% from the year prior, which was then about $174 million in 2024.  The average annual wage paid to someone employed in this sector in 2025 was $46,136 or $22.18/hr.  This is about a 5% increase over last year's average annual wage of $43,865 or $21.09/hr.  

In Polk County, growers produced about 3.7% less than 2024 with nursery and greenhouse sales estimated at about $51.5 million in 2025, as compared to $53.5 million in 2024. The average wage reported in Polk County was $43,387 or $20.85 per hour. Last year's average wage was $41,512 or $19.96/hr. or an increase of 4.5%.   

Both counties have seen a decrease in sales since the last increase in nursery production seen in 2021, when Hillsborough nursery sales were $308 million and Polk produced about $65 million. 

Another Devastating Pest Moves into Florida - Pasture Mealybug

In case you haven’t yet heard, there is yet another pest spreading around Florida: the pasture mealybug. It first came onto FDACS radar in Florida back in May of 26 and now has spread and is found in many counties in South Florida.  

A pink-bodied winged adult male in a heavy infestation of unmated females and nymphs. Photo: Erin C. Powell, FDACS-DPI

This mealybug is a pest of grasses and is ravaging the sugar cane industry as well as spreading to cattle pastures.  It can be a pest of many grasses including corn, rice, bahiagrass, lipograss, bermudagrass and many others. 

Damage from this pest is a severe dieback, stunting, and senescence of leaves and then death of the grass. 

Please check any grass plants that are moved from south Florida for this pest.  If you suspect that your pasture, turf or ornamentals are showing signs of a pasture mealybug infestation, submit a sample to DPI’s Entomology section for identification or contact the DPI Helpline at 1-888-397-1517 or DPIHelpline@FDACS.gov.

For more detailed information, here is the FDACS pest alert.  https://ccmedia.fdacs.gov/content/download/120429/file/pasture-mealybug-pest-alert.pdf

Compost Use Saves Money on Potting Soil

Container potting soil might not be your most expensive input, but according to national industry statistics, if you produce ornamental plants in containers, it is probably the second biggest expense after labor.  What if you could save 13% to 25% on potting media costs for each container produced?  What if you could save irrigation and fertilizer as well, with a simple change?  Those are some of the results that we found with a simple addition of an input and changing the container media.   

Over the last few years, we have been working on adding horticultural-grade compost to regular container media to "stretch" the mix and reduce peat usage. We have used combinations of potting media that we blended, composed of compost and pine bark as well as replaced potting media with percentages of compost and compared it to the growth of the normal container media mix for Central Florida. In both cases, compost matched up.

When we blended a mix of 70:30 and 60:40 pine bark:compost and compared it to the standard grower mix (¾” composted pine bark (50%), Florida peat (40%), and hardwood (10%), and grew crapemyrtles, we found that the one gallons all grew the same; no statistical differences in height and width (Fig 1).

Fig 1. Crapemyrtles grown in one-gallon containers with grower standard soil, 70:30 and 60:40 pine bark:compost mixes from left to right.

We then stepped up those one-gallon container plants and replanted them into three-gallon containers and continued to grow them in the same soils as they started.  When those plants were ready to harvest, height and width were measured, there were no differences in height, but compost soils were slightly wider than the standard with 30% compost being the widest plants. 

In our demonstrations of replacing a portion of potting soil with 20% or 40% compost we found similar results with ixora, crapemyrtles, New Guinea impatiens, and a variety of vinca (another variety did worse than control).  All plants grew similarly.  Amazingly, when compost was substituted, plants needed 20-25% less water and 61% less fertilizer. The media costs were reduced by about 25% or about $0.23 per #3 container. The key takeaway was that irrigation had to adjust lower to accommodate a more water holding media.

The utilization of compost is a great way to reduce production costs; irrigation run times and increase economic and natural resource sustainability.  Growers will need to trial varieties and change how they water to gain savings.  Some plants may not do well in compost.  Also, growers will need to use high-grade, mature compost from a reputable source (ours was donated by Veransa, Seffner) to avoid pH or nutrient concerns.  It also seems that 20-30% compost is a safe proportion to use, but again testing for your plants and nursery will influence that amount.

For full information on this topic the article will appear soon in the proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society.   

Managing Foliar Leaf Spots in Viburnum Production: What Florida Nursery Trials Reveal

Viburnums are a cornerstone crop for many Florida nurseries, but over the past two decades growers have faced increasingly severe foliar disease problems—especially during propagation. What was once a nearly trouble‑free crop has, in some cases, dropped from near‑100% propagation success to total loss. Extension and research by UF/IFAS and funding help from the Florida Nursery Grower and Landscape Association help explain why—and what growers can do to protect their plants.

It’s Not Just Downy Mildew Anymore

For years, downy mildew (DM) (Plasmopara viburni) was considered the primary culprit behind leaf spots, blighting, and defoliation in viburnum. But UF/IFAS researchers found that today’s disease pressure is far more complex. Across multiple nursery trials, they consistently isolated a mixture of true fungal pathogens—including Cercospora, Colletotrichum, Corynespora, Phyllosticta, Phoma, and Pestalotiopsis species.
These pathogens produce symptoms nearly identical to downy mildew, making field diagnosis extremely difficult. In fact, in several seasons researchers found no downy mildew at all, even when symptoms looked like classic DM.

Viburnum cutting propagation with heavy disease pressure (photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County)

Why Many Fungicides Fail

Because many growers were targeting downy mildew, they relied heavily on oomycete‑specific fungicides. The trials showed that these products—those containing active ingredients ametoctradin, cyazofamid, dimethomorph, fluopicolide, mandipropamid, mefenoxam, or oxathiapiprolin—did not reduce disease severity when true fungi were the real problem.

In contrast, systemic fungicides effective against true fungi performed significantly better. Products containing active ingredients benzovindiflupyr, difenoconazole, fluxapyroxad, and pyraclostrobin consistently reduced leaf spot severity in both container and propagation trials.

Propagation Trials: Dip Treatments Shine

During propagation, both fungicide drench and dip applications helped reduce disease, but dip treatments had two major advantages:

• They reduced disease severity without the negative impact on root development seen in some drench treatments.
• They possibly avoided diluting the rooting hormone, which can contribute to weaker, less vigorous liners.

Postiva® (benzovindiflupyr + difenoconazole) and Orkestra® (pyraclostrobin + fluxapyroxad) were the most consistently effective products across trials.

Best Practices for Growers

The research highlights three key takeaways:

1. Identify the pathogen—or at least recognize that multiple pathogens may be involved. Misidentification leads to ineffective control.
2. Use the right fungicide for the right pathogen group. When true fungi dominate, oomycete‑targeting products won’t help.
3. Reevaluate production practices. Overhead irrigation, high humidity, and dense canopies create ideal conditions for foliar pathogens. Reducing leaf wetness—especially in propagation—can dramatically improve outcomes. Creating less stress (possibly with some shade) can also help plants fight diseases.

While fungicides remain an important tool, cultural practices and clean stock are equally critical. With better pathogen awareness and targeted management, growers can regain control over viburnum production and reduce costly losses.

For more complete information, publications of the multi-year research findings were published in the Florida State Horticulture Society Proceedings and summarized for nursery growers and propagators in the publication Foliar Leaf Spots of Viburnum during Nursery Production in Florida: Research and Fungicide Efficacies

Disclaimer

UF/IFAS recommends following all pesticide labels. The label is the law. The selection and use of these products over any other products do not indicate an endorsement. During the preparation of this work, the author used Copilot to summarize research findings. After using this tool, the author reviewed and edited the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the content of the publication.

West Central Florida Regional Pesticide Applicator Trainings and CEUs

If you are looking to take a Private, Core, Ag Row, Pesticide test to obtain a Commercial, Public or Private Applicator Pesticide License, or need CEUs for those licenses.  If you or your agricultural employer needs to obtain a Worker Protection Standard Training Certificate, we have some classes that you might be interested in taking a look at. 

Here is the summary of the upcoming license preparation classes we are offering in the Tampa Bay area.  For more information, click on the individual class links to get the specifics of each program. 

Type                Date            Extension Office        Class link

Core/PRVT    3/24/26        Manatee Co.              Manatee Class

WPS               6/23/26        Manatee Co.              Manatee WPS

Private            6/25/26        Polk County              Polk Private Class

WPS               9/15/26        Hillsborough             Hills WPS Class

Core/PRVT     9/17/26        Hillsborough             Hills Pest Class

Do You Know What Green Industry Firms Are Paying Employees?

 

Industry benchmarking can be a very important source of information for any competitive firm. It gives organizations a clear, data-driven understanding of where they rank compared to their peers and competitors. The data gained from these insights can help firms strategically plan, prioritize investments, and validate assumptions regarding business decisions.  What matters most about industry benchmarking is that firms must input their information to have a framework to gauge their ranking.

The Floridian Nursery Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA), in partnership with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (UF/IFAS) Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, is conducting the 2025 Florida Green Industry Wage and Benefit Survey.

This survey collects updated information on wages, benefits, and workforce practices across nursery, greenhouse, and landscape services firms statewide.  Your participation is essential for developing reliable industry benchmarks that help guide business planning, workforce retention, and competitiveness. All responses are strictly confidential and will be reported only in an aggregated form. Completing this survey should take approximately 20 to 25 minutes, and it can be saved and completed in multiple settings.

Here is a link to take the survey: www.tinyurl.com/FNGLASurvey

Report your Freeze Damage Losses

It is important to report any freeze damages you have to our local USDA Farm Service Agency offices.  This will help determine disaster levels and possible policy changes to assist ag producers.  Our Hillsborough County office is:  

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FARM SERVICE AGENCY

201 S COLLINS ST STE 201

PLANT CITY, FL 33563

(813) 752-1474 ext 2

Polk County office is:

POLK COUNTY FARM SERVICE AGENCY

1700 HWY 17 S

BARTOW, FL 33830

863) 533-2051 ext 2 UF is also assisting with damage reporting to measure the impact to help inform decision makers.  This is what was sent by Dr. Christa Court Ag Economist with UF/IFAS... My program supports the State Emergency Board for Florida by attending their meetings to share the information that my program has on the weather event, the affected agricultural acreage, and results that are coming in through the UF/IFAS Agricultural Damage and Loss Assessment. So, they will have this information available to inform the overall process, but it cannot be used to determine county/state eligibility for the Secretarial disaster designation. My information is typically used to determine if there are additional counties or crops that did not have individual reports coming into a county/region USDA-FSA office that might make the county eligible for a Secretarial disaster designation, which means an area or commodity should be investigated further before a final decision is made. This (and other uses in meetings with and decisions being made by the Office of the Governor, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the USDA, and others) is why I always describe the UF/IFAS assessment as complementary to reporting losses and damages to USDA-FSA, even though the two efforts are asking for much of the same information. I have been trying for 8+ years to overcome duplicate efforts and barriers to data sharing across organizations and we have made great strides, but aren't yet to the ultimate goal of having agricultural operations only have to report this information once. It has been a rough couple of weeks weatherwise and I hope you made it through without too much loss. Just make sure to be proactive and report your losses or call Shawn at the Extension Office and I can work with you to report your losses.

FNGLA Lake Region Meeting in Bartow 2/3/26 Chili Cook Off and Pest Update CEUs

Make sure to drop in to our Annual Chilli Cook Off for some good cookin' and a pest update (A CEU if you need one of those also).