Controlling Echinothrips in Ornamentals without Pesticides: News from the Netherlands.

Echinothrips americanus is an interesting pest in Ontario.  An occasional pest of little concern for some, its presence often plagues others (i.e. cut flower growers). The greenhouse research team at Wageningen University & Research has been working to find reliable, effective biocontrol  strategies for this Echinothrips.

Read on for their latest update on what’s working, and how this applies to Canadian growers.

The article on the latest biocontrol strategies for Echinothrips  (also referred to as Poinsettia thrips in other countries) by Wageningen Univeristy can be found here.

You’ll notice many of the biocontrol agents they mention in their research are NOT available in Canada (and unlikely to be in the foreseeable future).

However, the take home message here is that two of our currently available thrips controls, A. swirskii and A. limonicus, can be effective for this pest.  Several cut flower growers in the Niagara region have been experimenting with A. limonicus for thrips control and have been happy with the outcomes.

Note that other biocontrols originally for western flower thrips, like A. cucumeris and Orius, tend to be ineffective for Echinothrips in ornamentals.

More information on Echinothrips can be found here and here.