Impact of Variety and At-Planting Insecticides on Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Management in Peanut

Tobacco thrips are one of the most prevalent early season insect pests in peanut production systems. Experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 in Stoneville Mississippi to evaluate integrated pest management approaches to mitigate negative effects of thrips. Experimental treatments included a normal and late planting date, varieties Georgia-06G and QR-14, and in-furrow insecticide treatments consisting of a non-treated control, phorate, and imidacloprid. Measurements included early and final plant stands, immature and adults thrips counts, and pod yield. In-furrow insecticide had a strong effect on number of thrips per plant with treatment thrips ranking of: phorate < imidacloprid < non-treated control. However, in-furrow insecticide had no interaction with variety or plating date. Although phorate provided greater thrips control than imidacloprid, pod yield for the two treatments was similar, and both in-furrow treatments had greater yield than the non-treated control. The variety QR-14 had greater pod yield than Georgia-06G when planted late. Overall, these results confirm that in-furrow insecticide applications of either imidacloprid or phorate are adequate in protecting against yield loss from thrips within a midsouthern peanut production environment.