tags: - public-ready - export-bio - index
Thrips parvispinus
Overview
Thrips parvispinus is an emerging invasive thrips species of major concern in protected horticulture.
It is particularly important because of:
- aggressive population development
- severe flower and foliage damage
- rapid establishment in protected crops
- management difficulty under warm conditions
The species is receiving increasing attention within European protected horticulture.
Crop relevance
Important risk crops include:
- peppers
- chillies
- ornamentals
- strawberries
- protected fruiting crops
- tropical ornamentals
Protected environments may allow rapid establishment and continuous population cycling.
Symptoms
Typical symptoms include:
- bronzing
- distorted growth
- severe flower damage
- scarring
- aborted flowers
- fruit marking
- black feeding spots
Heavy infestations may rapidly affect crop marketability.
Environmental drivers
Pressure is strongly favoured by:
- warm temperatures
- stable protected environments
- dense crop canopy
- flowering crops
- continuous production systems
See: - Temperature - Ventilation and air movement
IPM considerations
Programmes should focus heavily on:
- extremely early detection
- hotspot mapping
- rapid intervention
- compatible predator establishment
- crop hygiene
- movement control between crops
- monitoring propagation material
Once widely distributed within crops, suppression becomes substantially more difficult.
Biological control relevance
Potential biological control may involve:
Programme success depends heavily on timing and establishment speed.