1ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru, 560024, Karnataka, India
ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Regional Station, Coimbatore, 641003, Tamil Nadu, India
*Email: amuento@yahoo.co.in (corresponding author)
Online Published on 17 May, 2023.
Exploratory surveys were conducted to study the diversity of thrips species on cotton at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Taxonomic studies revealed the presence of three species, viz. Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, Thrips palmi Karny and Thrips tabaci Lindeman on leaves and four species, viz. Thrips florum Schmutz, Thrips hawaiiensis (Morgan), Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) and Thrips parvispinus (Karny) in flowers. T. parvispinus is one of the notorious pest species of South East Asia and also a serious pest of quarantine importance. F. schultzei, S. dorsalis, T. palmi and T. tabaci are notorious pests as well as vectors of plant viruses. Since these species may attain major pest status, the report demands regular monitoring and surveys in cotton.
Cotton, Thrips, Diversity, Leaves, Flowers, Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi, T. tabaci, T. florum, T. hawaiiensis, T. parvispinus, Frankliniella schultzei, Diversity indices
