https://lgpress.clemson.edu

Best Management Practices for Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in Cotton

Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) are the most consistent and predictable insect pests of Upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in South Carolina and much of the southeastern United States. These small insects have piercing-sucking and rasping mouthparts and feed on almost all portions of the cotton plant, with the most significant injury occurring on seedlings (plant emergence to five true leaves).1,2 Excessive feeding injury can produce severely stunted plants (figure 1), often resulting in loss of yield or, at least, a delay in crop maturity. The predominant species infesting and causing injury to seedling cotton in the Southeast is the tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) (figure 2), as it readily reproduces on and colonizes the crop, but other species of less importance are present.3,4

Rows of planted cotton in a field.

Figure 1. A row of unprotected cotton (foreground) with extensive injury from thrips, compared with rows protected with insecticide at planting (background). Image credit: Jeremy Greene, Clemson University.

Adult female and male thrips lined up next to a lowercase 12-point font letter i to compare their size.

Figure 2. Lowercase ‘i’ in Times New Roman 12-point font for comparison with (from left to right) two adults (female with macropterous [large, functioning wings] and male with brachypterous [rudimentary, non-functioning wings]), pupa, prepupa, and two immatures (also referred to as ‘nymphs’ or ‘larvae’) of tobacco thrips. Image credit: Sophia Conzemius, Clemson University.

Identification

Tobacco thrips can be identified using genetic techniques3 or by visual characteristics using a microscope.3,5 As adults, tobacco thrips have large, fully functioning (macropterous) or rudimentary (brachypterous) wings and bodies about 1 to 2 mm in length that can be dark brown or tan (figures 2 and 3). Immatures of the tobacco thrips are wingless, yellow, and smaller than adults (figures 2 and 4). Eggs of thrips (figure 5) are partially inserted into leaf tissue. Other species of importance in cotton closely resemble tobacco thrips, with the most notable species being the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande.

Two adult female thrips.

Figure 3. Adult females (macropterous, left; brachypterous, right) of tobacco thrips. Image credit: Sophia Conzemius, Clemson University.

Two immature tobacco thrips.

Figure 4. Immature stages of tobacco thrips. Image credit: Sophia Conzemius, Clemson University.

A thrips egg on the tip of a thumbtack.

Figure 5. Thrips egg on the tip of a thumbtack. Image credit: Sophia Conzemius, Clemson University.

Life Cycle

Adult females of tobacco thrips deposit eggs primarily into the cotyledons (seed leaves) and initial true leaves of cotton seedlings.6 Larvae emerge from hatched eggs in less than a week, depending on temperature,7 feed on leaf cells for approximately another week before undergoing a short (a few days) resting stage, and then turn into newly formed adults that seek mates and start the entire process over again.8 Tobacco thrips can have multiple generations per year,9 with only a generation or two having an impact on cotton. Tobacco thrips and related species overwinter as adults, and possibly as immatures, on weeds, winter crops, and plant debris (i.e., litter) in the southeastern United States.10

Management

Chemical Control

Because thrips can significantly injure cotton and reduce yields or at least delay maturity, most cotton planted in the southeastern United States receives a prophylactic insecticide treatment. Preventative control with insecticides used at planting is the most common method of addressing tobacco thrips in cotton. Insecticides used at planting for thrips are applied to the seed or placed in the furrow with seed as liquid or granular formulations. These insecticides systemically enter a seedling cotton plant through water uptake in the root system and control thrips that feed on above-ground tissue. The neonicotinoids11 thiamethoxam and imidacloprid, the organophosphate11 acephate, and the carbamate11 thiodicarb are commonly used as seed treatments. Acephate and imidacloprid can also be applied as in-furrow liquid sprays, and the organophosphate phorate and the carbamate aldicarb are applied as in-furrow granular insecticides. This preventative, at-plant strategy for chemically controlling thrips on seedling cotton (figure 6) has worked well for decades, but some resistance to insecticides, specifically the widely used neonicotinoids, has been reported.12

The left image shows unhealthy cotton seedlings, and the right image shows healthy cotton seedlings that had insecticide applied.

Figure 6. Cotton seedlings (7-leaf stage) without (left) and with (right) preventative insecticide used at planting. Image credit: Jeremy Greene, Clemson University.

As cotton grows, insecticides applied at planting become diluted and are metabolized into derivatives in plants and lose effectiveness. Foliar insecticide applications are often required to control thrips in cotton as the plant continues to grow, representing a shift to reactive control rather than preventative. Many states have published guidelines regarding thrips control on cotton. The guidelines recommend sampling for thrips and assessing feeding injury (figure 7)13 on seedling cotton and comparing results with treatment thresholds. For example, the Cotton Insect Management section of the South Carolina Pest Management Handbook recommends that insecticides be applied as foliar sprays to control thrips in seedling cotton (up to four or five true leaves) when populations meet or exceed two or more thrips per plant, with particular attention paid to when immature thrips appear, signaling that insecticides used at planting are no longer providing control.14 Shaking plants in large white containers, such as drinking cups, is a good way to count dark-colored adult thrips. Shaking plants over or onto something dark, such as a black drop cloth or clipboard, is an excellent method for enumerating light-colored immature thrips (watch a thrips YouTube video that shows the methods of sampling for thrips). When thresholds are met or exceeded, options for foliar sprays of insecticides include, but are not limited to, the organophosphates acephate, dicrotophos, dimethoate, and the spinosyn11 spinetoram as the most efficacious materials available for post-planting control of thrips in seedling cotton. Non-chemical options (presented hereafter) for managing thrips in cotton should be used when possible to slow the development of resistance to insecticides.

Six images of cotton seedlings with varying degrees of advancing injury from thrips.

Figure 7. Numerical ratings of progressive feeding injury to cotton seedlings caused by thrips. Ratings ‘1’ through ‘5’ represent advancing injury to true leaves, with ‘0’ indicating no visible injury. Image credit: Jeremy Greene, Clemson University.

Cultural Control

Other strategies for controlling thrips in cotton include practices deployed as cultural techniques. For example, delaying the planting date can reduce the risk of thrips injury.13 A mathematical model9 and web-based tool,15 the Cotton Infestation Predictor Tool, is available to help cotton producers determine appropriate planting dates to minimize risk from tobacco thrips. This new tool can also be used to organize fields by risk, allowing for variable scouting efforts and control options based on the intended planting date. Modifying planting date as a cultural control tactic could reduce the use of chemical controls, slow development of insecticide resistance, benefit the environment, and potentially save input costs for producers.

Another cultural control strategy involves using the inherent properties of cotton varieties to withstand injury from thrips. Host-plant resistance (HPR) deters colonization of and injury from thrips by making the plant less palatable to thrips (antixenosis) and/or increasing mortality or reducing longevity and reproduction of thrips on the resistant plant (antibiosis). Having this built-in protection can be very effective when identified and deployed. However, Upland cotton is generally considered highly susceptible to thrips, with no known thrips-resistant commercial varieties.2,16 Some cotton species appear to be more resistant or tolerant of thrips, such as Pima cotton, Gossypium barbadense L.16,17 Contradictive traits such as highly pubescent18 and hairless19 phenotypes have been linked with reduced thrips populations, yet both have been reported to be susceptible characteristics in other studies.20,21 The high glanding breeding line ‘Arkot 8727’ has been registered with thrips resistance22, though glandless cotton was found to have lower thrips damage.23 Additional genetic and chemical analyses are needed before traditional plant breeding techniques will yield HPR characteristics in cotton that can be used as a successful management practice for thrips in the Southeast. Despite these hurdles, advances in genetic engineering have produced a cotton trait that uses antixenosis to deter injury from thrips.24 Cotton with this trait is expected to be commercially available in 2022.

Heavy plant residue at the time of cotton planting can also reduce thrips populations and damage to cotton. Heavy residue can be achieved by incorporating a winter cover crop into the rotation as well as reducing tillage.25,26 Cover crops have been adopted because of numerous other benefits, including suppressed weed pressure,27 conserved soil moisture,28 and reduced nematode injury.28 Sanitation (also known as clean culture) is commonly used as a cultural control technique for numerous insect pests, but bare soil (without any plant residue) promotes higher populations of thrips and does not decrease thrips injury on young cotton plants.

Additional cultural control practices for managing thrips in seedling cotton are contradictive or deficient. Skip-row plant spacing does not influence the abundance of thrips in seedling cotton.29 However, within-row plant spacing might have an impact, with decreasing numbers of thrips reported with an increase in plant spacing in cotton30 and onions31 (another crop susceptible to thrips injury). Heavy rainfall events often reduce populations of thrips on cotton32 and onions33 and can promote rapid plant growth to decrease the time plants are susceptible to injury from thrips. Overhead sprinkler irrigation can also reduce populations of thrips in cotton.34

Physical/Mechanical Control

The use of barriers, sound waves, electricity, radiation, temperature, and other physical control tactics has not been reported as effective in controlling thrips in seedling cotton. Of these strategies, mulching films or other reflective ground surfaces have been shown to reduce thrips, aphids, and whiteflies in tomatoes35 and other crops.36 Screens and materials blocking ultraviolet light37 can provide greenhouse crops with some protection, but the implementation of physical or mechanical control strategies in field crops, such as cotton, are challenging, cost-prohibitive, and questionably effective.

Biological Control

Parasitoids, predators, and disease organisms can provide natural biological control of thrips, but it is almost always not enough protection to prevent infestations of thrips from having an economic impact. Manipulations of predaceous arthropods are expensive, and ratios of costs to benefits regularly preclude the effective use of introducing or augmenting predators of thrips on cotton.38 Despite some natural enemies of thrips in seedling cotton, deliberate modification of beneficial organisms is not currently a practical strategy for managing thrips in the crop.

Other Control Options

Additional best management practices (BMPs) for thrips in seedling cotton include the use of starter fertilizer39 and minimizing plant stress, such as that caused by herbicide injury, to help seedlings grow normally and quickly outgrow feeding injury. A good integrated pest management (IPM) strategy will use several of the aforementioned control tactics and BMPs concurrently.40

Summary

Thrips are consistent and predictable insect pests of seedling cotton in the southeastern United States. Although a complex of species infests seedling cotton in the region, tobacco thrips are the predominant species requiring management in the crop. Control strategies rely heavily on chemical control used at planting, but issues with insecticide resistance are emerging that compel the use of additional tactics. Cultural control strategies, such as the use of cover crops, reduced tillage operations, delayed planting date, targeted irrigation, and starter fertilizer, can complement chemical control and likely help slow the development of insecticide resistance. Producers and managers of cotton in the southeastern United States should consider using a multi-tactic approach that uses several BMPs in an overall IPM approach for managing thrips.

References Cited

  1. Reay-Jones FPF, Greene JK, Herbert DA, Jacobson AL, Kennedy GG, Reisig DD, Roberts PM. Within-plant distribution and dynamics of thrips species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in cotton. Journal of Economic Entomology. 2017 Aug;110(4):1563–1575. doi:10.1093/jee/tox131.
  2. Cook D, Herbert A, Akin DS, Reed J. 2011. Biology, crop injury, and management of thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) infesting cotton seedlings in the United States. Journal of Integrated Pest Management. 2011 Oct. 2(2):1–9. doi:10.1603/IPM10024.
  3. Wang H, Kennedy G, Reay-Jones FPF, Reisig DR, Toews MD, Roberts PM, Herbert DA, Taylor S, Jacobson AL, Greene JK. Molecular identification of thrips species infesting cotton in the southeastern USA. Journal of Economic Entomology. 2018 Apr:1(2):892–898. doi:10.1093/jee/toy036.
  4. Stewart S D, Akin DS, Reed, J, Bacheler J, Catchot A, Cook D, Gore J, Greene JK, Herbert A, Jackson RE, Kerns DL, Leonard BR, Lorenz GM, Micinski S, Reisig D, Roberts P, Studebaker G, Tindall K, Toews M. Survey of thrips species infesting cotton across the southern US Cotton Belt. J. Cotton Sci. 17(4):263–269. http://journal.cotton.org/journal/2013-17/4/upload/JCS17-263.pdf.
  5. Reed JT, Allen C, Bagwell R, Cook D, Burris E, Freeman B, Leonard R, Lentz G. A key to the thrips on seedling cotton in the mid-southern United States. Mississippi State (MS): Mississippi State University; 2006 Bulletin 1156. 34 p. https://www.mafes.msstate.edu/publications/bulletins/b1156.pdf.
  6. D’Ambrosio DA, Huseth AS, Kennedy GG. Determining Frankliniella fusca (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) egg distribution in neonicotinoid seed-treated cotton. Journal of economic entomology. 2019 Mar;112(2):827–34. doi:10.1093/jee/toy393.
  7. Wagner TL, Wu HI, Sharpe PJ, Schoolfield RM, Coulson RN. Modeling insect development rates: a literature review and application of a biophysical model. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 1984 Mar;77(2):208–220. doi:10.1093/aesa/77.2.208.
  8. Watts JG. A comparison of the life cycles of Frankliniella tritici (Fitch), F. fusca (Hinds) and Thrips tabaci (Lind). (Thysanoptera-Thripidae) in South Carolina. Journal of Economic Entomology. 1934 Dec;27(6):1158–1159.
  9. Chappell TM, Ward RV, DePolt KT, Roberts PM, Greene JK, Kennedy GG. Cotton thrips infestation predictor: a practical tool for predicting tobacco thrips (Frankliniella fusca) infestation of cotton seedlings in the southeastern United States. Pest Management Science. 2020 Jun. doi:10.1002/ps.5954.
  10. Cho K, Eckel CS, Walgenbach JF, Kennedy GG. Overwintering of thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in North Carolina. Environmental Entomology. 1995 Feb;24(1):58-67. doi:10.1093/ee/24.1.58.
  11. IRAC International MoA Working Group. IRAC Mode of action classification scheme, version 9.4. 30 p. Issued March 2020. https://irac-online.org/modes-of-action/.
  12. Huseth AS, Chappell TM, Langdon K, Morsello SC, Martin S, Greene JK, Herbert A, Jacobson AL, Reay‐Jones FP, Reed T, Reisig DD. Frankliniella fusca resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides: an emerging challenge for cotton pest management in the eastern United States. Pest Management Science. 2016 Oct;72(10):1934–1945. doi:10.1002/ps.4232.
  13. Kerns CD, Greene JK, Reay-Jones FP, Bridges Jr WC. Effects of planting date on thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in cotton. Journal of economic entomology. 2019 Mar;112(2):699–707. doi:10.1093/jee/toy398.
  14. Greene JK. 2020. South Carolina pest management handbook, cotton insect management. Clemson (SC): Clemson University, Clemson Cooperative Extension; 2020. p. 105–118. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/agronomy/pest%20management%20handbook.html.
  15. Kennedy G, Chappell T, Ward R, DePolt K. Thrips Infestation Predictor for Cotton. A web-based tool for predicting risk from tobacco thrips in cotton. North Carolina State University.
    https://climate.ncsu.edu/cottonTIP.
  16. Zhang J, Fang H, Zhou H, Hughs SE, Jones DC. Inheritance and transfer of thrips resistance from Pima cotton to Upland cotton. J. Cotton Sci. 2013;17(3):163–169.
  17. Miyazaki J, Stiller WN, Wilson LJ. Sources of plant resistance to thrips: a potential core component in cotton IPM. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 2017 Jan;162(1):30–40.
  18. Rummel DR, Quisenberry JE. Influence of thrips injury on leaf development and yield of various cotton genotypes. Journal of Economic Entomology. 1979 Oct;72(5):706–709.
  19. Leigh TF. Bionomics of cotton thrips: a review. New York (NY): Springer US; 1995. In Parker BL, Skinner M, Lewis T. (eds.), Thrips Biol. Manag. p. 61–70.
  20. Zareh N. Evaluation of six cotton cultivars for their resistance to thrips and leafhoppers. Iran Agricultural Research. 1985 Sep;4(2):89–97.
  21. Khan MA, Ali A, Aslam M, Tahir Z, Khan MM, Nadeem I. The role of morphological and chemical plant traits imparting resistance in Bt cotton genotypes against thrips, Thrips tabaci (Lind.). Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2014 Sep;51(3).
  22. Bourland FM, Benson NR. Registration of Arkot 8727, a high glanding cotton germplasm line. Crop science. 2002 Jul;42(4):1384.
  23. Zhang J, Idowu OJ, Wedegaertner T, Hughs SE. Genetic variation and comparative analysis of thrips resistance in glandless and glanded cotton under field conditions. Euphytica. 2014 Oct ;199(3):373–383.
  24. Akbar W, Gowda A, Ahrens JE, Stelzer JW, Brown RS, Bollman SL, Greenplate JT, Gore J, Catchot AL, Lorenz G, Stewart SD. First transgenic trait for control of plant bugs and thrips in cotton. Pest management science. 2019 Mar;75(3):867–877. doi:10.1002/ps.5234.
  25. Toews MD, Tubbs RS, Wann DQ, Sullivan D. Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) mitigation in seedling cotton using strip tillage and winter cover crops. Pest management science. 2010 Oct;66(10):1089–95. doi:10.1002/ps.1983.
  26. Olson DM, Davis RF, Brown SL, Roberts P, Phatak SC. Cover crop, rye residue and in‐furrow treatment effects on thrips. Journal of applied entomology. 2006 Jun;130(5):302–8. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0418.2006.01066.x.
  27. Toler HD, Augé RM, Benelli V, Allen FL, Ashworth AJ. Global meta‐analysis of cotton yield and weed suppression from cover crops. Crop Science. 2019 May;59(3):1248–1261. doi:10.2135/cropsci2018.10.0603.
  28. Marshall MW, Williams P, Nafchi AM, Maja JM, Payero J, Mueller J, Khalilian A. Influence of tillage and deep rooted cool season cover crops on soil properties, pests, and yield responses in cotton. Open Journal of Soil Science. 2016 Oct;6(10):149–58. doi:10.4236/ojss.2016.610015.
  29. Parajulee MN, Shrestha RB, Slosser JE, Bordovsky DG. Effects of skip-row planting pattern and planting date on dryland cotton insect pest abundance and selected plant parameters. Southwestern Entomologist. 2011 Mar;36(1):21–39. doi:10.3958/059.036.0103.
  30. Arif MJ, Gogi MD, Mirza M, Zia K, Hafeez F. Impact of plant spacing and abiotic factors on population dynamics of sucking insect pests of cotton. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 2006;9(7):1364–1369.
  31. Khaliq A, Afzal M, Khan AA, Raza AM, Kamran M, Tahir HM, Aqeel MA, Ullah MI. management of Thrips tabaci (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) through agronomic practices in onion field plots. Pakistan Journal of Zoology. 2016 Dec;48(6).
  32. Leigh TF. Bionomics of Cotton Thrips: A Review, pp. 61-70. In: Parker B.L., Skinner M., Lewis T. (eds) Thrips Biology and Management. NATO ASI Series (Series A: Life Sciences), Vol 276. Springer, Boston, MA. 1995 doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-1409-5_5.
  33. Harding JA. Effect of migration, temperature, and precipitation on thrips infestations in south Texas. Journal of Economic Entomology. 1961 Feb;54(1):77–9.
  34. Gencsoylu I, Yilmaz E. Influence of various irrigation methods on Frankliniella spp. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in cotton fields. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences. 2003.
  35. Csizinszky AA, Schuster DJ, Kring JB. Color mulches influence yield and insect pest populations in tomatoes. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 1995 Sep;120(5):778–784.
  36. Shimoda M, Honda KI. Insect reactions to light and its applications to pest management. Applied Entomology and Zoology. 2013 Nov;48(4):413–21.
  37. Díaz Desani BM, Fereres A. Ultraviolet-blocking materials as a physical barrier to control insect pests and plant pathogens in protected crops. 2007. Pest Technology.1(2):85–95.
  38. Ahmed S, Saleem MW, Ali A, Nisar MS, Khan RR, Rashid A. cost benefit analysis of integration of biocontrol agents with insecticides and plant extracts for the management of thrips tabaci lin. in bt cotton ecosystem. Interaction. 2020 Oct;2:T15.
  39. Olson DM, Davis RF, Brown SL, Roberts P, Phatak SC. Cover crop, rye residue and in‐furrow treatment effects on thrips. Journal of applied entomology. 2006 Jun;130(5):302-8.J. App. Entomol. 130(5):302–308. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0418.2006.01066.x.
  40. Herbert A, Reisig D, Huseth A, Kennedy G, Greene J, Reay-Jones FPF, Roberts P, Toews M, Jacobson A, Smith R, Reed T. Managing thrips in cotton: research in the southeast region, ENTO-182NP, Virginia Cooperative Extension, 13 p. https://cottoncultivated.cottoninc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Thrips-Management-in-SE.pdf.

Publication Number

NEWSLETTER

Categories

Looking for homeowner based information?

Share This