Thrips are a pest that damages onions and garlic by feeding on the leaves. The adult thrips are pale yellow to gray and lay eggs in leaf epidermis. Nymphs and adults lacerate leaf tissue from between the sheath and stem to feed on oozing sap, causing small white patches. Severe infestations can cause leaves to dry from the tip downwards and distort or stunt bulbs. Management techniques include clean cultivation, flooding fields to control populations, and spraying recommended insecticides.

1. Pest of Onion &
Garlic

2. Thrips
• S.N. - Thrips tabaci
•Family - Thripidae
•Order - Thysonoptera

3. Identification of pest
• Eggs - Are laid only in the epidermis of leaves
• Pupa - in soil
• Adult-
• The color of the insect varies from pale yellow
to grey

4. Onion thrips

5. Nature of damage:
• Nymph and adult found between leaf sheath and stem lacerating
the epidermis of leaves and suck the oozing sap .
• The affected leaves shows small white silvery patches are all over
the leaves.
• In severe infestation, leaves dry from tip to downward
• The bulb remain undersized
• Get distorted in shape

6. Shows small white silvery patches are
all over the leaves.

7. Onion Thrips

8. Leaves dry
from tip to
downward

9. Management
• Clean cultivation, regular hoeing
• Flooding of infested field will check the thrips
population.
• Spray insecticides dimethoate @ 0.06% or
profenofos @ 0.05%