Abstract
Two studies were conducted in Georgia during the spring of 1997 and 1998 to evaluate various management practices for reducing thrips and thrips-vectored Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in tomato. Populations of the two species of thrips responsible for transmitting TSWV in tomato fields, Frankliniella occidentalis and F. fusca, were determined using blossom and sticky trap samples. Management practices evaluated were host plant resistance, insecticide treatments, planting date, and light-reflective mulch. In both years, intensive insecticide treatment had the largest effect in reducing thrips and spotted wilt and increasing marketable yield, compared with host plant resistance and reflective mulch. The effect of planting date was consistent in that the later planting date resulted in higher incidence of TSWV, lower thrips numbers, and lower tomato yields, both in fruit quality and dollar value. Host plant resistance and reflective mulch significantly reduced thrips and TSWV. In both years, early planting on black plastic with an intensive insecticide treatment resulted in the highest yield.
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