Factors influencing the population of the onion thrips on onion

Abstract

The onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) has been known for a long time as a pest of onion. The damage hinders the development of the onion, causing the plant to end its development earlier than usual, so there may be a decrease in crop yield, too. Control of the onion crop against the onion thrips is the basis of its protection. The chemical protection is difficult owing to the hidden lifestyle of the pest and the wax cover on the leaf of the onion. The natural enemies of the onion thrips can reduce the population only to a small degree. One of the efficient and environmentally friendly protection methods could be the production of thrips resistant onion varieties. The thrips susceptibility of onion varieties (dry onion, leek, green bunch onion and chive) produced in Hungary is unknown. Our aim was to investigate the thrips susceptibility of commercially produced onion varieties and to work out the methods of a large-scale investigation.