BACKGROUND The efficacy of systemic applications of imidacloprid for the management of avocado thrips and avocado lace bug was determined in field trials. Following insecticide treatment by chemigation, leaves of appropriate age for each insect were sampled over a 6 month period and used for bioassays. Imidacloprid residues were measured by ELISA in leaves used for bioassays to determine concen...

Plant defenses inducible by herbivorous arthropods can determine performance of subsequent feeding herbivores. We investigated how infestation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants with the Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) alters host plant suitability and foraging decisions of their conspecifics. We explored the role of delayed-induced jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated plant defe...

Citrus thrips, Scirtothrips citri (Moulton), is a plant-feeding pest most widely recognized for causing damage to citrus and mango fruits. This insect has broadened its host range to become a significant pest of commercial blueberries grown in the San Joaquin Valley of California. We evaluated Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) for control of citrus thrips in blueberries grown under two watering regi...

Caliothrips phaseoli, a phytophagous insect, detects and responds to solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B; lambda <or= 315 nm) under field conditions. A highly specific mechanism must be present in the thrips visual system in order to detect this narrow band of solar radiation, which is at least 30 times less abundant than the UV-A (315-400 nm), to which many insects are sensitive. We constructe...

Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) is an important forage crop in many Western U.S. states. Marketing of timothy hay is primarily based on esthetics, and green color is an important attribute. The objective of these studies was to determine a relationship between arthropod populations, yield, and esthetic injury in timothy. Economic injury levels (EILs) and economic thresholds were calculated based o...

We are evaluating systemic insecticides for the management of current and newly emerging pests of California avocados. Studies are being conducted in commercial avocado groves, under normal agronomic practices. Trees are treated using a variety of techniques – soil application, trunk injection – to establish the methods that will provide the best uptake of insecticide for the protection of the ...

457 Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an important export oriented vegetable among the cultivated allium in India. It is also known as “queen of kitchen”. Productivity of onion is affected by many biotic and abiotic stresses. For commercial cultivation of onion, both thrips and foliar diseases play the key role in reducing the bulb yield and quality of produce. Among the various foliar diseases affecti...

Behavioural responses of Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), a generalist, cell sap-feeding insect species with piercing-sucking mouthparts, after continuous exposure to two deterrent secondary plant compounds are investigated. We compared in choice assays on bean leaf discs, the settling, feeding, and oviposition preferences of F. occidentalis females that had no e...

Sugar spraying can cause induced plant resistance. In this study we investigated the effects of sugar spraying on the resistance to western flower thrips, WFT, Frankliniella occidentalis on tomato. We tested three different sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose, at four concentrations: 0, 1, 10 and 100 ppm, to induce resistance of the cultivated tomato (var. Moneymaker). Bioassays conducted 2 w...