Publication Type
Journal Article
Journal Name
Insects
Publication Date
3-1-2015
Abstract
Western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is an important pest of vegetable crops worldwide and has developed resistance to many insecticides. The predatory mites Neoseiulus (=Amblyseius) cucumeris (Oudemans), the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.), and an insecticide (imidacloprid) were tested for their efficacy to reduce WFT population density and damage to French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) pods under field conditions in two planting periods. Metarhizium anisopliae was applied as a foliar spray weekly at a rate of one litre spray volume per plot while imidacloprid was applied as a soil drench every two weeks at a rate of two litres of a mixture of water and imidacloprid per m2. Neoseiulus cucumeris was released every two weeks on plant foliage at a rate of three mites per plant. Single and combined treatment applications reduced WFT population density by at least three times and WFT damage to French bean pods by at least 1.7 times compared with untreated plots. The benefit-cost ratios in management of WFT were profitable with highest returns realized on imidacloprid treated plots. The results indicate that M. anisopliae, N. cucumeris, and imidacloprid have the potential for use in developing an integrated pest management program against WFT on French beans.
Keywords
Amblyseius, Benefit-cost ratio, Entomopathogenic fungus, Frankliniella occidentalis, Neonicotinoid, Phaseolus vulgaris, Predatory mite
Recommended Citation
Nyasani, J., Subramanian, S., Poehling, H., Maniania, N., Ekesi, S., & Meyhöfer, R. (2015). Optimizing western flower thrips management on French beans by combined use of beneficials and imidacloprid. Insects, 6 (1), 279-296. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects6010279
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.