Thrips and the tospoviruses they transmit remain one of the most severe and intractable control problems that ornamental growers face across the nation, especially in California. The only methods for controlling tospoviruses are those that revolve around prevention. Development and validation of IPM prevention and management strategies for western flower thrips in ornamental production will be discussed.
Monitoring thrips transmission of tospoviruses in ornamental production systems with petunia indicator plants utilizes a hypersensitive response by petunias to provide an early indication of the presence of viruliferous thrips. Use of this monitoring system allows growers to conserve their most effective pesticides for periods when tospovirus transmission is likely to occur. Use of this monitoring system in conjunction with directional traps and cultural controls dropped tospovirus infection from 70% to less than 1% in one year for one field flower grower.
Evaluations of reflective materials, as ground covers or plant covers, or as alternatives to fine mesh screens on greenhouses, for their ability to reduce thrips populations and tospovirus transmission in various ornamental crops will be presented. Positive plant quality effects will also be discussed.
Induced resistance involves plant-mediated changes associated with initial attack by herbivores and pathogens that negatively influence subsequent attackers. Jasmonic acid and salicylic acid, elicitors of induced resistance, were evaluated in both the laboratory and the field on chrysanthemum as tools for controlling thrips and tospoviruses. The data from these trials will be presented.
Species 1: Thysanoptera Thripidae Frankliniella occidentalis (Western flower thrips)
Keywords: IPM, tospovirus
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