TH – Thrips Resistant Onions

TH – Thrips Resistant Onions. Type: Insect. The onion thrips is a common insect pest of onions. The insect is present throughout the United States. It is one of the most destructive insect pests of growing onions in Washington State. Besides onions, they feed on numerous vegetables, including cabbage, potatoes, and tomatoes. Thrips damage onions by puncturing the leaves and sucking up the sap. The damage causes the leaves to dry up, wither, turn brown, and eventually cause the stalk to bend and break. If thrips are feeding on cabbage, the cabbage will be blistered, scarred, and bronzed by thrips feeding on the leaves. Where many thrips had fed, discolored brownish blister-like areas will be visible. Lacewings, ladybugs, and parasite wasps may help regulate the thrips population. Insecticides have helped in controlling thrips in the past, but their rapid resistance to insecticides has been a problem. The best option is to use thrips-tolerant varieties.