Evaluation of Efficacy of Conventional and Novel Insecticides Against the Invasive Thrips, Thrips parvispinus (Karny) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on Chilli

The current study assessed the effectiveness of 12 insecticides in the field against the invasive thrips species, Thrips parvispinus, on Chilli (Capsicum annuum) crop at the University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India. Thrips population ranged from 7.04 to 6.04/ leaf before spraying. Among all the insecticidal treatments, broflanilide 30 SC at 25 g a.i./ha recorded the highest efficacy in terms of significant thrips population reduction (93.61%), followed by fluxametamide 10 EC at 40 g a.i./ha with a 90.72% reduction and moderate efficacy was observed with thiamethoxam 25 WG (68.04%), cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD (60.54%), spinetoram 11.7 SC (58.08%) and tolfenpyrad 15 SC (55.01%). Biorational agents, including Beauveria bassiana (39.37%), Verticillium lecanii (38.49%) and azadirachtin 1% (20.82%), demonstrated limited effectiveness. The findings highlight the superior performance of novel insecticides, particularly broflanilide and fluxametamide, in managing thrips populations. Integrating these novel insecticides with conventional options offers a promising and potentially sustainable option for pest control while reducing the risk of resistance development.