Fungal pathogen controls thrips in greenhouse flowers
Western flower thrips cause considerable losses in a wide range of agricultural crops by feeding on leaves and fruit, laying eggs in fruit and transmitting diseases. Repeated pesticide application is currently the only method that reduces populations to acceptable levels....
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
1998-05-01
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| Series: | California Agriculture |
| Online Access: | http://calag.ucanr.edu/archive/?article=ca.v052n03p32 |
| Summary: | Western flower thrips cause considerable losses in a wide range of agricultural crops
by feeding on leaves and fruit, laying eggs in fruit and transmitting diseases. Repeated
pesticide application is currently the only method that reduces populations to acceptable
levels. Biological control efforts have focused on using predators and have been largely
unsuccessful. However, entomopathogenic fungi could also be used as biological controls
for western flower thrips, Laboratory and field trials show that commercial formulations
of Beauveria bassiana (GHA strain) can infect and reduce western flower thrips numbers in greenhouse floriculture
crops, thus demonstrating its potential as an alternative to conventional pesticides. |
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| ISSN: | 0008-0845 2160-8091 |