Alternatives to carbamate and organophosphate insecticides, cultural tactics, and ecological factors that affect Tomato spotted wilt virus epidemics in peanut

Abstract

Selected management tactics, including insecticides and cultural practices, against Frankliniella fusca (Hinds) and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in peanut were evaluated. Effects of pine pollen on thrips fitness and TSWV transmission and the role of cotton as alternative host of thrips and TSWV were also assessed. The first objective focused on evaluating alternative insecticides to carbamate and organophosphate usage in peanut production. Efficacy of alternative insecticides was assessed based on four parameters: thrips density and feeding injury, spotted wilt incidence, and yield. The second objective investigated the integration of selected alternative insecticides with different cultural practices: tillage systems, row patterns, and seeding rates. The third objective focused on the effects of pine pollen, as supplemental source of amino acids, on thrips populations and TSWV transmission. The fourth objective assessed the role of cotton as a thrips reservoir and as a TSWV inoculum source.