How do you figure out if thrips are in your facility in the first place? And, if so, what’s the best way to monitor their populations?
After working with this pest for the last 1-2 years, researchers like myself have figured out which monitoring methods are most effective. This can help you identify the problem early, begin a management plan, and monitor the efficacy of your controls.
Detection and Monitoring in Propagation
If you’re growing your own tropical crops, inspecting imported cuttings is usually your first step to detecting unwanted pests. It can also usually give you a feel for what the pest pressure is going to be that year (think Bemisia whitefly adults or nymphs in bags of poinsettia cuttings).
However, an inspection of mandevilla cuttings, as well as the water from cutting dips, at a commercial greenhouse (with help from the Buitenhuis lab at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre) revealed very few adults or larvae. This suggests that most of the thrips are coming in on imported plant material as eggs.
Read more at onfloriculture.com
