Alternative Management Practices for Tobacco Thrips in Peanuts

Peanuts receive major emphasis because of the crop's importance to the economy of southeastern Virginia and the magnitude of pesticide use in crop management. In 1992, growers planted 93,000 acres of the crop and harvested an estimated 123,225 tons of peanuts with a value of ca. 79 million dollars in farm income. When coupled with the shelling, processing and shipping industries in the Tidewater region, peanut production is a major pillar of the economy in Virginia. In 1992, an estimated 22.6 million dollars were lost to diseases of the peanut. Such heavy losses were a result of unseasonably cool, wet weather and the high vulnerability of the crop to a wide array of pathogenic agents. As reflected in the following summary of IPM-related projects, IPM in peanuts has received major emphasis.