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21 June 2016 Evaluating an Action Threshold-Based Insecticide Program on Onion Cultivars Varying in Resistance to Onion Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)
Brian A. Nault, Anders S. Huseth
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Abstract

Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a highly destructive pest of onion, Allium cepa L., and its management relies on multiple applications of foliar insecticides. Development of insecticide resistance is common in T. tabaci populations, and new strategies are needed to relax existing levels of insecticide use, but still provide protection against T. tabaci without compromising marketable onion yield. An action threshold-based insecticide program combined with or without a thrips-resistant onion cultivar was investigated as an improved approach for managing T. tabaci infestations in commercial onion fields. Regardless of cultivar type, the average number of insecticide applications needed to manage T. tabaci infestations in the action-threshold based program was 4.3, while the average number of sprays in the standard weekly program was 7.2 (a 40% reduction). The mean percent reduction in numbers of applications following the action threshold treatment in the thrips-resistant onion cultivar, ‘Advantage’, was 46.7% (range 40–50%) compared with the standard program, whereas the percentage reduction in applications in action threshold treatments in the thrips-susceptible onion cultivar, ‘Santana’, was 34.3% (range 13–50%) compared with the standard program, suggesting a benefit of the thrips-resistant cultivar. Marketable bulb yields for both ‘Advantage’ and ‘Santana’ in the action threshold-based program were nearly identical to those in the standard program, indicating that commercially acceptable bulb yields will be generated with fewer insecticide sprays following an action threshold-based program, saving money, time and benefiting the environment.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Brian A. Nault and Anders S. Huseth "Evaluating an Action Threshold-Based Insecticide Program on Onion Cultivars Varying in Resistance to Onion Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 109(4), 1772-1778, (21 June 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tow112
Received: 6 April 2016; Accepted: 4 May 2016; Published: 21 June 2016
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KEYWORDS
Allium cepa
host plant resistance
IPM
Thrips tabaci
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