Online Greenhouse Scout School

Cornell University is partnering with the University of Vermont and the University of Maine to offer a 7-week webinar series in scouting for disease, insect and weed pests of greenhouse production. Learn how to identify the major pests of greenhouse crops, make scouting faster and easier, communicate with growers and owners, and find resources to help. The series emphasizes ornamentals, although the scouting principles and pests described will apply to other greenhouse crops.

Sessions will be led by Stephanie Burnett, Margery Daughtrey, Betsy Lamb, Elise Lobdell, John Sanderson and Cheryl Sullivan.

January 22–March 5, 2026

Certificate Program Presentations:
Thursdays
6-7:30 p.m.

Webinar Series Presentations:
Thursdays
6:30-7:30 p.m.

Registration Options

Register for our certificate program or select individual topics from the webinar series. 

two happy people wearing magnifying visors and laughing

Certificate Program

Earn a certificate demonstrating your knowledge and skills as a greenhouse scout. This option includes all 1.5 hour presentations, scouting equipment, electronic resources and discussions with presenters and other students.

Registration closed on January 9, 2026. Contact Betsy Lamb to inquire further about certification.

Cost: $300

Contact event coordinator

Webinar Series

Choose the sessions that match your area of interest.

Cost: $25 per session or $125 for all seven sessions.

Please register at least one business day before the webinar, especially if you wish to receive pesticide recertification credits.

Webinar registration

Pesticide Recertification Credits

One NYSDEC pesticide recertification credit is available for each webinar in Categories 10, 1a, 3a, 3c, 24, and 25. Please contact Elizabeth Lamb as soon as possible if you are interested in receiving pesticide recertification credits from other states, and we will try to accommodate your request.

To receive credits, you must be on your own computer or smart device so we can identify who is present. You will also need to send a photo of your pesticide license in advance of the program. More information will be sent upon registration.

Questions?

Contact Elizabeth Lamb
eml38 [at] cornell.edu (eml38[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Schedule

January 22

Intro to Scouting

  • Goals of scouting and review of useful tools
  • Root rots
  • Fungus gnats and biological controls

January 29

Mechanics of Scouting and Record Keeping

  • Sampling plan and record keeping
  • Aphids
  • Botrytis and other fungal leaf spots and rusts

February 5

Overview of Scouting Part 1

  • Patterns and observation in scouting
  • Thrips and biocontrols
  • Abiotic disorders

February 12

Overview of Scouting Part 2

  • How to make scouting easier
  • Mites and biocontrols
  • Bacterial diseases

February 19

Scouting Resources

  • Scouting resources
  • Mildews
  • Whitefly and biocontrols

February 26

Communicating Scouting Results

  • Scouting through the season
  • Virus diseases
  • Mealybug and scale

March 5

And Everything Else

  • Other insects and related critters you might see: leaf hoppers, leaf miners, saltmarsh caterpillars (or other caterpillars) tarnished plant bugs, slugs, ants
  • Other diseases and related critters you might see: foliar nematodes, root knot nematodes, phytoplasmas, parasitic plants (if not in weeds)

Instructors

Elizabeth Lamb

Coordinator of the Ornamentals Program of the Cornell Integrated Pest Management Program

John Sanderson

Emeritus Assistant Professor in the Entomology Department at Cornell University

Elise Schillo-Lobdell

IPM consultant and scout for 30 years, The PlantKeeper

Stephanie Burnett

Associate Professor of Horticulture, University of Maine

Cheryl Sullivan

Integrated Pest Management Research Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont Entomology Research Laboratory

Margery Daughtrey

Senior Extension Associate, School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section at Cornell University