Shortly after its invasion into Europe, the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), became a more severe pest of greenhouse crops than the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman. To test whether this differential pest status was due to a larger capacity of population increase, a comparative life history study was carried out on cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Corona). Experiments at 25°C showed that the egg-to-egg period of F. occidentalis was shorter, but its peak ovipositional rate was lower and its offspring sex ratio more male biased. These differences resulted in a slightly lower intrinsic rate of population increase (rm) for F. occidentalis than for T. tabaci (0.166 vs. 0.176/day). It was shown experimentally that between 15 and 28°C, developmental rate of F. occidentalis is linearly related to temperature, with a theoretical threshold temperature similar to the value reported for T. tabaci (10.9 vs. 11.5°C). It is argued that the rm-value of F. occidentalis will not be higher than that of T. tabaci for any temperature within this range. Alternative explanations for the difference in pest status between the two thrips species are discussed.

Thrips are damaging pests in pepper worldwide. They can cause damage directly by feeding on leaves, fruits or flowers, and also indirectly by transferring viruses, especially tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). Although thrips are among the most damaging pests in pepper, until now there is no commercial variety with a useful level of resistance to thrips. This is at least partly due to the lack of knowledge on resistance levels in pepper germplasm of QTLs and/or genes for resistance, and of information about resistance mechanisms to thrips in pepper. This paper describes our research aimed at developing practical and reliable screening methods for thrips resistance in pepper and at identifying pepper accessions showing a strong resistance to thrips. Thirty-two pepper accessions from four species of pepper (Capsicum annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense and C. frutescens) and two species of thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis and Thrips parvispinus) were used in this study. Our results indicate that the laboratory based leaf disc test and the detached leaf test can be used as reliable screening methods for thrips resistance in pepper. We observed a large variation for resistance to thrips in Capsicum that can be exploited in breeding programs.

The western flower thrips [Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)] is a major pest in pepper cultivation. Therefore, host plant resistance to thrips is a desirable trait. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of resistance on the development of thrips and to identify metabolite compounds related to the resistance. Three highly resistant, three medium resistant, and three susceptible pepper accessions were used in this study. Adult and pre‐adult survival, developmental time, and oviposition rate were assessed. Gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry was used to identify compounds that correlate with the level of resistance to thrips. Our results show that resistance of pepper accessions has a significant effect on oviposition rate and larval mortality. Seven compounds were identified that correlate with resistance to thrips and six compounds were identified that correlate with susceptibility to thrips. Some of these compounds, such as tocopherols, were previously shown to have an effect on insects in general. Also, some specific secondary metabolites (alkanes) seem to be more abundant in susceptible accessions and were induced by thrips infestation.

BackgroundThe green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae, is economically one of the most threatening pests in pepper cultivation, which not only causes direct damage but also transmits many viruses. Breeding aphid resistant pepper varieties is a promising and environmentally friendly method to control aphid populations in the field and in the greenhouse. Until now, no strong sources of resistance against the GPA have been identified. Therefore the main aims of this study were to identify pepper materials with a good level of resistance to GPA and to elucidate possible resistance mechanisms.ResultsWe screened 74 pepper accessions from different geographical areas for resistance to M. persicae. After four rounds of evaluation we identified one Capsicum baccatum accession (PB2013071) as highly resistant to M. persicae, while the accessions PB2013062 and PB2012022 showed intermediate resistance. The resistance of PB2013071 resulted in a severely reduced uptake of phloem compared to the susceptible accession, as determined by Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) studies. Feeding of M. persicae induced the expression of callose synthase genes and resulted in callose deposition in the sieve elements in resistant, but not in susceptible plants.ConclusionsThree aphid resistant pepper accessions were identified, which will be important for breeding aphid resistant pepper varieties in the future. The most resistant accession PB2013071 showed phloem-based resistance against aphid infestation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-018-1340-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Key messageA QTL for thrips resistance on pepper chromosome 6 was identified and validated. This QTL affects thrips larval development and explains 50 % of the variation.AbstractThrips is one of the most damaging pests in pepper (Capsicum). Resistance to thrips was identified in Capsicum annuum. This study was aimed at the elucidation of the genetic background of thrips resistance in Capsicum through QTL mapping. The QTL analysis was carried out for Frankliniella occidentalis resistance in an F2 population consisting of 196 plants derived from an interspecific cross between the highly resistant C. annuum AC 1979 as female parent and the highly susceptible C. chinense 4661 as male parent. Fifty-seven SSR, 109 AFLP, and 5 SNP markers were used to construct a genetic map with a total length of 1636 cM. Damage caused by larvae and the survival of first and second instar larval stages observed in a no-choice test were used as parameters of resistance. Interval mapping detected one QTL for each of these parameters, all co-localizing near the same marker on chromosome 6. Use of this marker as co-factor in a multiple-QTL mapping analysis failed to uncover any additional QTLs. This QTL explained about 50 % of the genetic variation, and the resistance allele of this QTL was inherited from the resistant parent. Thrips resistance was not linked to trichome density.