Introduction to pest management on ornamental crops grown in greenhouses and nurseries, with emphasis on insects and diseases. Emphasis on production practices and their influence on pest population development. Scouting, integrated pest management, chemical pesticides, and pest identification will be covered.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students are required to complete two pest control guides for two different host plants and assist in coordinating, compiling, and editing the pest control guides developed by the class into a final document for distribution.
Athena Title
Ornamental Pest Management
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in PATH 4360E, ENTO 4360E or PATH 6360E, ENTO 6360E
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be in traditional lecture format, with an occasional field trip to visit local nurseries and/or greenhouses.
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
PATH 3530-3530L
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will have a basic understanding of pest management on ornamental crops.
Students will have knowledge of disease, insect, and weed identification; scouting; pest sampling; and cultural, physical, biological, and chemical control options currently available to pest control managers involved in greenhouse and nursery production.
Students will have knowledge of ornamental production practices such as container selection, propagation, structures, irrigation, and plant placement and how they influence pest population development will be covered.
Students will develop pest control guides that will then be distributed to all students for future reference.
Students will solve pest management problems by correctly identifying pests and providing realistic control recommendations.
This course will better prepare Plant Protection and Pest Management (Plant Pathology), Entomology, and Horticulture undergraduate and graduate students for employment as pest managers or consultants within the ornamental industry.
Topical Outline
Introduction, objectives, assignments
Entomology review, external anatomy, physiology, life cycles
Identification and biology of important pests, mites
Important pests – caterpillars, borers, leaf beetles
Important pests – thrips, leaf miners, gall makers
Important pests – scale, sucking bugs (leaf hoppers, etc.)
Important pests – whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs
Plant Pathology review, disease triangle, pathogen groups
