Abstract
Adult thrips flight activity was monitored with water traps in nectarine orchards in 4 locations in the mid-Atlantic region in 1992. Thrips infestation at bloom and subsequent injury at harvest were evaluated. Twenty-nine species of thrips were recovered in water traps. Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), comprised 92% of the thrips in water trap samples at a site in south central Pennsylvania where 16% of the nectarines were silvered (thrips damage). At another site in south central Pennsylvania and at sites in north central Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, flower thrips, F. tritici (Fitch), were most numerous and silvering did not occur. The only injurious thrips recovered from blossoms was pear thrips, Taeniothrips inconsequens (Uzel), at the north central Pennsylvania site where increased scarring was observed. Silvering was correlated with the number of thrips per fruit and was most extensive in the lower 3rd of the canopy in 2 nectarine orchards. In field applications, formetanate hydrochloride and methomyl both reduced silvering injury by western flower thrips, with the former providing a longer period of protection. Cumulative thrips days were highly correlated with the percentage of fruit receiving moderate levels of silvering.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call