Chilli Thrips Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood A Serious Threat

Chilli Thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood: A Serious Threat to Vegetables, Fruits and Ornamentals in the Western Hemisphere Dakshina R. Seal University of Florida-IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center, Homestead, Florida

OUTLINE OF THE TALK • • • Introduction Determination of Distribution in Caribbean Spatial patterns of distribution Control of S. dorsalis using chemicals Effect of chemicals on ladybugs Potentiality of minute pirate bugs in controlling S. dorsalis using the reference of T. palmi • Out-reaching activities with CAPS and School students in detecting S. dorsalis in South Florida • Acknowledgement • Question-Answer

INTRODUCTION • • • Biology Synonyms Host plants Disease transmission Geographical distribution

Biology • Chilli thrips occurs in tropical, subtropical and temperate countries • It thrives in 25 o – 30 o. C • Preoviposition period 3 -5 d • Female oviposits 8 -12 eggs/day • 12 -200 eggs/female • Development period 12 -20 d

New Pest to the Western Hemisphere Synonyms: Castor thrips, Asam thrips, Berry , thrips or Yellow tea thrips, Strawberry thrips • • Preferred Scientific Name: Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood 1919 • • Other Scientific Names Anaphothrips andreae Karny 1925 Heliothrips minutissimus Bagnall 1919 Neophysopus fragariae Girault 1927 Scirtothrips andreae (Karny) Scirtothrips fragariae (Girault) Scirtothrips minutissimus (Bagnall) Scirtothrips padmae Ramakrishna 1942 Host Plants: Over 112 host plants currently known, many are crop hosts – banana, beans, corn, citrus, cotton, cocoa, eggplant, grapes, kiwi,

Other names • French Thrips jaune du theier • Germany Nordindischer Tee-Blasenfuss • Japan tya-na-kiiro-azamiuma

Host Plants: Over 112 host plants currently known, many are crop hosts – banana, beans, corn, citrus, cotton, cocoa, eggplant, grapes, kiwi, litchi, longan, mango, peach, peanut, peppers, soybean, tea, tobacco, tomato, etc.

DISEASE TRANSMISSION - Bud Necrosis Disease (BND) in peanuts - It is a weak vector of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV). - S. dorsalis is also a vector of Yellow Spot Virus (YSV) on ground nut. - It has been reported to cause Tospovirus - Peanut Chlorotic Fan-spot Virus. - Bacterial Leaf Spot and Bunchy Top diseases are also vectored by S. dorsalis. - It often causes chilli leaf curl (CLC) due to heavy larval feeding.

CLC St. Vincent Israel

CLC in a scotch bonnet field

Damaged calyx due to S. dorsalis

Geographical Distribution Bangladesh India Pakistan China Indonesia Malaysia Phlippines Sri-Lanka Thiland South Africa Ocenia Old World Distribution: Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Africa, and Australia

Distribution in Western Hemisphere • Since 1984, USDA-APHIS inspectors at various ports of entry have reported S. dorsalis 89 times on imported plant materials belonging to 48 taxa (USDA 2003). Most commonly the pest was associated with cut flowers, fruits and vegetables. • In 2003, shipments of peppers from St. Vincent and St. Lucia inspected in Miami, showed the presence of S. dorsalis. This was the first indication of this pest in the Western Hemisphere. • Skarlinsky (2003) surveyed and found S. dorsalis on pepper crops at multiple farm sites in St. Vincent. Therefore an additional survey was conducted to determine the host range, distribution, and impact of S. dorsalis was initiated with the support of both Ministries of Agriculture.

15 Sites visited 62 Samples collected

Geographical distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis by agricultural district in Saint Lucia. District No. locations sampled Total no. samples in all locations Percent samples with S. dorsalis 1 Total no. S. dorsalis adults collected 1 * 2 * 3 4 12 16. 7 (2) 4 4 4 30 36. 7 (11) 29 5 6 16 68. 7 (11) 201 6 * 7 1 4 25. 0 (1) 1 8 * * Not sampled 1 Values inside parenthesis indicate total number of samples with adult S. dorsalis

Host plant distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis in St Lucia. Host plant Total no. No. samples with S. dorsalis Percent samples with S. dorsalis Pepper 21 11 52. 4 Eggplant 15 6 40. 0 Cucumber 11 5 45. 5 Squash 7 0 0 Pigweed 2 1 50. 0 Tomatoes 2 0 0 Cantaloupe 1 0 0 Ornamental 1 1 100 Watermelon 1 0 0 Zucchini 1 1 100 (Amaranthus sp)

Numbers of Scirtothrips dorsalis and percentage of total thrips collected on various host plants in St Lucia. Host plant Total no. samples Total no. adult S. other dorsalis in adult samples thrips S. dorsalis percent of total thrips collected Pepper 21 83 157 34. 6 Eggplant 15 9 120 7. 0 Cucumber 11 128 656 16. 3 Squash 7 0 16 0 Pigweed 2 1 15 6. 3 Tomatoes 2 0 1 0 Cantaloupe 1 0 2 0 Ornamentals 1 4 44 8. 3 Watermelon 1 0 0 0 Zucchini 1 13 24 35. 1 (Amaranthus sp)

Distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis among pepper varieties sampled on St. Lucia. Pepper cultivar Total no. adult S. samples dorsalis in all samples Total no. S. dorsalis other percent of adult total thrips collected Scotch Bonnet 9 20 51 28. 2 Bell pepper 5 0 13 0 Habanero 5 19 35 35. 2 West Indies Red 2 44 58 43. 2 Serrano 1 0 0 0

35 Sites visited 123 samples collected

Geographical distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis by agricultural districts in St. Vincent. District No. locations sampled Total no. samples in all location Percent samples with S. dorsalis 1 Total no. S. dorsalis adults collected 1 4 17 64. 7 (11) 33 2 1 3 0 0 3 3 14 28. 5 (4) 5 4 E 5 25 52. 0 (13) 135 4 W 6 12 16. 7 (2) 15 5 1 5 40. 0 (2) 2 6 1 3 33. 3 (1) 2 7 8 20 50. 0 (10) 27 8 7 24 33. 3 (8) 13 1 Values inside parenthesis indicate total numbers of samples with adult S. dorsalis

Host plant distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis in St. Vincent. Host plant Numbers of Percent of samples/ with S. crop S. dorsalis Pepper 63 38 60. 3 Eggplant 20 4 20. 0 Watermelon 8 2 28. 5 Pumpkin 7 2 28. 5 Tomato 6 1 16. 7 Okra 5 3 60. 0 Cucumber 5 0 0 Cantaloupe 3 0 0 Bean 3 1 33. 3 Pigweed 2 0 0 (Amaranthus sp. )

Numbers of Scirtothrips dorsalis and percentage of total thrips collected on various host plants in St. Vincent. Host plant Total no. samples adult S. dorsalis in all samples Total no. S. dorsalis other percent of adult total thrips collected Pepper 63 198 650 23. 3 Eggplant 20 5 187 2. 6 Watermelon 8 12 305 3. 8 Pumpkin 7 7 38 15. 6 Tomato 6 1 16 5. 9 Okra 5 7 40 14. 9 Cucumber 5 0 160 0 Cantaloupe 3 0 168 0 Pigweed 2 0 55 0 Bean 3 2 170 1. 2

Distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis among pepper varieties sampled on St. Vincent. Pepper cultivar Total no. samples Total no. adult S. dorsalis in all samples Total no. other adult thrips S. dorsalis percent of total thrips collected West Indies Red 38 77 346 18. 2 Habanero 13 50 135 37. 0 Scotch Bonnet 8 116 203 27. 0 Bell pepper 3 66 68 49. 3 Santa Fe Grande 1 1 8 11. 1 Within plant distribution of Scirtothrips dorsalis in pepper plants from selected farms in St. Vincent. Pepper cultivar Number of S. dorsalis adults collected Leaves Flower Fruit West Indies Red 2 1 0 West Indies Red 5 1 1 Scotch Bonnet 2 0 0 West Indies Red 1 0 1

Summary on Distribution • The above information indicate that S. dorsalis has established in St. Lucia and St. Vincent. • Various crops in various locations have been infested with S. dorsalis.