Abstract

The western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) causes bronzing to strawberry fruit. Management of insecticide-resistant strains relies on the integration of predators with carefully timed use of the few insecticides available. Effective management requires better understanding of economic injury levels (EILs) and the factors that affect them. The densities of F. occidentalis and the predatory mite Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) were manipulated in field experiments. All stages of flower and fruit were susceptible to thrips damage, but larvae caused nearly twice as much damage as adults per individual. The EIL was about four adult thrips per flower in the absence of predators, but increased to over eight at densities of N. cucumeris typical of good establishment in crops. The EIL could be increased by about 0.7 adult thrips per flower for every N. cucumeris per flower. The results were supported by measurements of EILs in commercial crops.

Details

Title
Predatory mites double the economic injury level of Frankliniella occidentalis in strawberry
Author
Sampson, Clare 1 ; Kirk, William D. J. 1 

 Keele University, Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Newcastle Under Lyme, UK (GRID:grid.9757.c) (ISNI:0000000404156205) 
Pages
661-669
Publication year
2016
Publication date
Dec 2016
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
13866141
e-ISSN
15738248
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1838970486
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2016. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.