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Simultaneous application of entomopathogenic Beauveria bassiana granules and predatory mites Stratiolaelaps scimitus for control of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis

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Abstract

Western flower thrips, F. occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is one of the most important pests of agricultural and horticultural crops worldwide. Adults and larvae injure plants through their feeding and virus transmission. However, suppression of the soil-dwelling pupal stages offers opportunities to minimize damage from the plant-feeding stages. Effects of a granular formulation of the entomopathogenic fungus B. bassiana GZGY-1-3, the predatory mite S. scimitus (Berlese) when applied to the soil individually and in combination for the management of F. occidentalis, were investigated on eggplant (Solanum melongena) under greenhouse conditions. The application of B. bassiana granules or predatory mites alone, or in combination, resulted in significant reductions in F. occidentalis populations compared with the untreated control. Compared with the untreated control, B. bassiana, S. scimitus and their combination resulted in declines of 59.41%, 72.59% and 86.03% for larvae and 53.62%, 66.11% and 82.18% for adults, respectively. The combined use of B. bassiana and S. scimitus improved control over the use of either biological control agent individually and helped assure more consistent management of F. occidentalis. Thus, we demonstrate the potential benefits of soil-dwelling predators and B. bassiana granules for management of F. occidentalis in protected crops.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFD0200802, 2016YFD0201002).

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Author notes

  1. Xingrui Zhang and Shengyong Wu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Xingrui Zhang, Shengyong Wu & Yulin Gao

  2. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Ontario, OR, 97914, USA

    Stuart R. Reitz

Authors
  1. Xingrui Zhang
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  2. Shengyong Wu
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  3. Stuart R. Reitz
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  4. Yulin Gao
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Correspondence to Yulin Gao.

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Special Issue on Novel Management Tactics for the Western Flower Thrips.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 2.

Table 2 Population numbers of larval and adult F. occidentalis on the first and eighth sampling in glasshouse eggplant under different treatments in two trials, respectively
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Zhang, X., Wu, S., Reitz, S.R. et al. Simultaneous application of entomopathogenic Beauveria bassiana granules and predatory mites Stratiolaelaps scimitus for control of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. J Pest Sci 94, 119–127 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01227-5

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