Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Associated with Unsprayed and Sprayed Peaches in Georgia

Abstract

In a study of thrips populations in central Georgia peach orchards in 1983 and 1984 (Crawford, Houston, and Peach Counties), 31 species of thrips were identified. Frankliniella tritici (Fitch), the flower thrips; Neohydatothrips (Sericothrips) variabilis (Beach), the soybean thrips; and Leptothrips mali (Fitch), a predaceous thrips were the most abundant species recovered. Sprayed orchards were monitored in 1984 and 1986. F. tritici and N. Variabilis were again the predominant phytophagous thrips species. Comparison with numbers found in unsprayed orchards suggested that use of pesticides did not reduce their abundance. Thrips injury to peaches in sample orchards was minimal. In 1988, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), the western flower thrips, was four times more abundant in sprayed orchards than F. tritici. Thrips injury also was more prevalent in 1988. Light to moderate silvering (a benign surface blemish) was found on >90% of fruit of early maturing cultivars in grower orchards. Russeting, a more serious tan-colored blemish that can be severe enough to cause fruit to be culled, was found on 10-20% of fruit in commercial orchards.