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.
