Thrips management in the green beans industry

Abstract

Thrips species in green beans are a continuing problem for bean growers from north Queensland all the way to Tasmania, with control options interfering with any Integrated Crop Management, ICM, program that growers may wish to implement on their farm. This project leads on from HAL projects VG02030 “Integrated Pest Management in the Green Bean Industry” and
VG06016 “Green Bean Ute Guide”. This project concentrated on alternative insecticides under Queensland growing conditions with limited insecticide trial work undertaken in Tasmania. The
bulk of the Tasmanian work centred around clarifying the difference between thrips damage and wind scorch and whether growers could increase their yield if an appropriate insecticide was used to manage their thrips populations.