HomeCropsCrop ManagementManagement Of Thrips And Mites In Chilli Crop 

Management Of Thrips And Mites In Chilli Crop 

Thrips and Mites are common pests that can cause significant damage to chilli crops. Managing these pests is important to protect the yield and quality of the crop. They infest the chilli crop from the seedling stage to the reproductive stage. Among different species of mites, yellow mites cause more destruction to the crop. Both the adult and nymph stage of thrips and mites causes damage to the chilli crop by sucking the sap from leaves, shoots, buds and fruits. They cause ‘leaf curl’ symptoms in the affected plants. 

Mites thrive in hot and dry weather conditions and can cause severe damage during the flowering and fruiting stages of the crop. While thrips infestations are most severe during the early stages of crop growth and the damage can lead to a reduction in the number of fruits per plant and the size of the fruit. Thrips and mites infestation can cause yield losses ranging from 20% to 50% in chilli and may also reach 60 – 90% in case of severe infestation. Thrips and Mites also act as vectors for the spread of ‘Leaf curl virus’ in chilli. If these pests are not controlled at the earliest stage, their infestation can destroy the whole crop.  

Thrips in Chilli crop:

Scientific name of thrips: Scirtothrips dorsalis 

Symptoms of Thrips infestation in Chilli:

  • They suck the sap from the leaf juices and cause crinkling and curling up of leaves 
  • They are found mainly on the underside of the leaves 
  • Infested leaves have elongated petioles  
  • They lacerate the leaf surface and cause a “Silvery or bronze appearance 
  • Affected flower buds become brittle and later drops. 
  • The early stage of infestation will lead to stunted growth  
  • In case of severe infestation, flower production and fruit set will be arrested 
  • Thrips feed on developing fruit, leaving behind small light brown scars on the surface 

Preventive Measures to control Thrips in chilli:

  • Grow resistant varieties 
  • Practicing intercrop with maize/sorghum gives shade to the chilli crop thereby reducing the growth of thrips 
  • Avoid  growing chilli after sorghum cultivation because it can create conditions susceptible to thrips infestation 
  • Avoid mixed cropping of chilli and onion to reduce thrips infestation 
  • To check the multiplication of thrips, sprinkle water over the seedlings 
  • Remove heavily infested chilli plants from the field  
  • Installing blue and yellow sticky traps can help in mass trapping of thrips. Spray neem oil to limit the damage to the crop 
  • Planting trap crops like marigolds and sunflowers and removing them, once they are completely infested, can reduce the damage to some extent. 

ETL: 6 thrips/leaf or 10% affected crop 

Management of Thrips in Chilli:

Product Name  Technical Content  Dosage (per lit water) 
Mechanical Management 
Barrix Magic Sticker Chromatic Trap Blue sheet  Chromatic Trap  8-10 sheets/acre 
Tapas Yellow Sticky Trap  22 cm x 28 cm  6 –8/ acre 
Biological Management 
Kaybee Thrips Raze Insecticide  Botanical Extracts  1-2 ml/ lit water 
Eco neem plus  Azadiractin 10000 PPM  3 ml/lit water 
Control TRM Bio-pesticide  Organic blend of botanical extracts and alkaloids  1.5 – 2ml/lit water 
Chemical Management 
Actara Insecticide  Thiamethoxam 25 % WG  0.5 gm/lit water 
Delegate Insecticide  Spinetoram 11.7% SC  0.9 ml/lit water 
Alanto Insecticide    Thiacloprid 21.7% SC  1 – 2 ml/lit water 
Benevia Insecticide  Cyantraniliprole 10.26% OD  1.7 to 2.0 ml/lit water 
Exponus Insecticide  Broflanilide 300 G/L SC  0.2 ml/lit water 
Tracer Insecticide  Spinosad 44.03% SC  0.3 – 0.4 ml/lit water 
EM 1 Insecticide  Emamectin Benzoate 5% SG  0.4 gm/lit water 
Takaf Insecticide  Diafenthiuron 47% + Bifenthrin 9.4% SC  1.25 – 1.5ml/lit water 
Katyayani Imd-178  Imidacloprid 17.8 % SL  0.5 ml/lit water 
Movento Insecticide  Spirotetramat 15.31% OD  2 ml/lit water 
Prime Gold Insecticide  Acetamiprid 20% SP  0.1 – 0.2 gm/lit water 
Shinzen Plus Insecticide  Fipronil 5% SC  1.6 – 2 ml/lit water 
Godrej Gracia Insecticide  Fluxametamide 10% EC  1 ml/lit water or 160 ml/acre 
Dhanuka Decide Insecticide  Etofenprox 6% + Diafenthiuron 25% WG  2.5 ml/lit water 

 

To know more about thrips click here – How to Manage Black Thrips in Chilli for More Profits? 

Note: Do not spray Tracer insecticide (Spinosad) if the crop is infested with both mites and thrips at a time 

Mites in Chilli crop:

The scientific name of the yellow mite: is Polyphagotarsonemus latus 

Symptoms of mite infestation in chilli:

  • Downward curling and crinkling appearance of chilli leaves 
  • Leaves become brittle and blister patches appear on the undersurface of the leaves 
  • Affected leaves show an inverted boat-shaped appearance 
  • In a few cases, the petiole of the infested leaves become elongated and this is often referred to as the “rat tail” symptom 
  • In certain cases, affected leaves show a dark green appearance 
  • Drying of growth tips, shedding of buds and defoliation of leaves occurs in case of severe infestation 
  • This leads to stunted growth and death of the plant 

Preventive Measures to control mites in chilli:

  • Grow mite-tolerant varieties  
  • Chilli crop can be bordered by 3 – 4 rows of maize 
  • Maintain field sanitation by removing and destroying crop residues and weeds 
  • Avoid water stress and water logging conditions  
  • Timely pruning of infested leaves or removal of plants with symptoms 
  • Adopt overhead irrigation with sprinklers 
  • Reduce excessive use of chemicals  
  • Adopt crop rotation with non-host crops like legumes and cucurbits 
  • Regular monitoring of the crop to detect the infestation early 
  • Spray neem seed kernel extract or neem oil at 10-day interval 
  • Use natural predators like predatory mites, Amblyseius ovalis 

ETL: 5-10 mites/leaf 

Management of Mites in Chilli:

Product name  Technical content  Dosage (per lit of water) 
Biological Management 
Econeem Biopesticide  Azadiractin 3000 PPM  2.5– 3 ml/lit water 
R Mite Bio Acaricide  Plant extracts  1 – 2 ml/ lit water 
Terra Might  Herbal Formulation  3 – 7 ml/lit water 
Greenpeace Neemol (10000 PPM) Bio Neem Oil Insecticide  Neem Oil extracts (Azardiractin)  1 – 2 ml/lit water 
Neem – Azadirachtin 1500 PPM (0.15%) EC – Pesticide  Azadiractin 1500 PPM (0.15%) EC  2-2.5 ml/lit 
Chemical management 
Oberon Insecticide  Spiromesifen 240 SC (22.9 % w/w)  0.3 ml/lit water 
Maiden Insecticide  Hexythiazox 5.45% EC  0.8 – 1 ml/lit water  
EMA Gold Insecticide  Emamectin Benzoate 5% SG  0.5 gm/lit water 
Shoku Insecticide  Diafenthiuron 50% WP  0.8 -1.2 ml/lit water 
Godrej Hanabi  Pyridaben 20% w/w WP  1 gm/lit water 
Sedna Insecticide  Fenpyroximate 5 % SC  1 – 1.5 ml/lit water 
Flotis Insecticide  Buprofezin 25 SC  0.5 -1.2 ml/lit water 
Intrepid Insecticide  Chlorfenapyr 10% SC  1.5 – 2 ml/lit water 
Kunoichi Miticide  Cyenopyrafen 30% SC  0.5 – 0.6 ml/lit water 
Keefun Insecticide  Tolfenpyrad 15% EC  2 ml/lit water 
Omite Insecticide  Propargite 57% EC  3 ml/lit water  
Meothrin Insecticide  Fenpropathrin 30% EC  0.5ml/lit water 
Magister Insecticide  Fenazaquin 10% EC  2 ml/lit water 

 

Conclusion:

Thrips and Mites are significant pests in chilli crops. Effective management of these pests is important for maintaining the yield and quality of chilli, reducing the risk of disease spread, and minimizing the economic impact of pest damage. Adoption of integrated pest management practices can help to manage their population and minimize the yield loss caused by these pests in chilli crops. 

NOTE:

  • Economic Threshold Level (ETL) – It is the population density at which the control measures need to be determined to prevent the increasing pest population 
  • By checking the ETL level in the field, the above-mentioned pest management approaches can be taken up to control the pest, reduce the risk of infestation and minimize crop loss in the future.

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