Overview of Updated Control Tactics for Western Flower Thrips

Abstract

Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), broadly known as Western flower thrips (WFT), are currently one of the most critical pests worldwide in field and greenhouse crops, and their management is full of yet unsolved challenges derived from their high reproductive potential, cryptic habit, and ability to disperse. The control of this pest relies widely on chemical control, despite the propensity of the species to develop resistance. However, significant advances have been produced through biological and ethological control. Although there has recently been a remarkable amount of new information regarding the management of this pest worldwide, there is no critical analysis of recent developments and advances in the attractive control tactics for WFT, constituting the present compilation’s aim. Hence, this narrative review provides an overview of effective control strategies for managing thrips populations. By understanding the pest’s biology, implementing monitoring techniques, accurately identifying the species, and employing appropriate control measures, farmers and researchers can mitigate the WFT impact on agricultural production and promote sustainable pest management practices.

Efficacy of Conventional and Biorational Insecticides against the Invasive Pest Thrips parvispinus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) under Containment Conditions

“…Supporting our findings, spinosad has been previously shown to be highly effective against T. parvispinus, reducing 80% of its incidence in chrysanthemum plants in the field [41]. Additional active ingredients that have been found to decrease T. parvispinus populations in the field through consecutive applications include methomyl (1A), butenolides (4D), spinetoram (5), novaluron (15), and tolfenpyrad (21A) [42]. Except for the two aforementioned studies, there is no other research evidence on insecticide efficacy against this thrips species.…”

“…Controlling thrips with insecticides can be challenging due to several factors, including their cryptic lifestyle, high mobility, the feeding behavior of both larvae and adults, high reproductive rates, short generation time, insecticide resistance, and more [13][14][15]. Improper timing of application and inadequate spray coverage when using contact insecticides are common mistakes that can potentially prevent efficacious insecticides from providing control.…”

“…Managing thrips is challenging due to their small size, cryptic lifestyle, and high population growth [13][14][15]. There are several conventional chemical insecticides registered for thrips control in nurseries or greenhouses such as azadirachtin, pyrethrins, carbaryl, acephate, spinosad, insecticidal soaps, narrow-range oil, and neem oil [16].…”

Chromosome-level genome assembly of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis

“…There are over 7000 species of thrips, with 150 of them being harmful to plants 2 . Pest thrips are causing increasing damage to crop production worldwide 3 , 4 . Thrips can be easily dispersed through transportation of host plants 5 .…”