Fungal pathogen controls thrips in greenhouse flowers

Abstract

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.