Thrips tabaci (Lind.) (Thysanoptera, Thripidae), another vector for tomato spotted wilt virus in Finland

Abstract

Populations of Thrips tabaci transmitted the isolate of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) from infected china asters to healthy china asters in laboratory experiments. Great variation was observed among absorbance values between thrips infested china asters. The highest absorbance values were obtained from stems of thrips inoculated plants. According to our results, T. tabaci seems to be a noteworthy TSWV vector in Finland, where it is the only naturally occurring TSWV vector species. It is also one of the main pests on greenhouse crops in addition to Frankliniella occidentalis, the primary vector of TSWV.