Location: Crop Improvement and Protection Research
Project Number: 2038-22000-020-022-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Apr 1, 2024
End Date: Mar 31, 2025
Objective:
Objective 1: Valley-wide monitoring of thrips populations.
Objective 2: Assessment of thrips populations and thrips INSV infection in nurseries.
Objective 3: Assessment of insecticide coverage in lettuce.
Approach:
Objective 1: Double-sided yellow and blue sticky cards will be placed in 21 locations from Castroville to King City and collected and replaced weekly by ARS. Thrips and aphids on each card will be counted in the laboratory by ARS. Data will be presented as a total average for all cards in the Salinas Valley, as well as separated into sub-locations (city), as previously done. Data for individual traps as well as the locations of individual traps themselves will not be disclosed. Data will be uploaded and distributed on the Salinas Valley Pest Monitoring app.
Objective 2: UC Davis will collect thrips off transplant trays in nurseries within the Salinas Valley using a modified vacuum to sample transplant trays every two weeks during time when transplants are being produced. This will collect both adult and larval thrips. Lettuce and other vegetable transplants will be sampled. We will sample at least two nurseries in the Salinas Valley. Thrips species and presence of INSV will be determined in the laboratory using qPCR at ARS.
Objective 3: UC Davis will use a combination of field and lab studies to assess spray coverage in lettuce. This will build upon our prior work using water sensitive cards and provide a more nuanced look at spray coverage. We will also leverage our ability to use a track spray chamber, which allows for consistent and calibrated spray applications. Field studies will be conducted at ARS in Salinas, CA. Applications will be made 30 and 42 days after seeding and test two different nozzle types with Dyne-Amic as an adjuvant and a fluorescent dye tracer at a rate of 60 gallons per acre. Lab studies will be conducted at UC Davis in a spray chamber to mimic similar conditions.
