Thrips! Help!

[OzoneNY]

Should I harvest the fruit on those plants now? How do I prevent this headache next season?

[Lee]

Re. prevention.... See marigold suggestion above......
Chemicals won't keep thrips off your plants. In my experience, marigolds do.

No TSWV here since implementing this strategy.

YMMV

Originally Posted by OzoneNY

Should I harvest the fruit on those plants now? How do I prevent this headache next season?

[creister]

Lee,

Will the thrips wipe out the marigolds? I only ask so as to know how many to plant. Also, how close together do you plant your marigolds and tomatoes?

[heirloomtomaguy]

Originally Posted by OzoneNY

Should I harvest the fruit on those plants now? How do I prevent this headache next season?

I would harvest the fruit and rip those plants out at the first sign of tswv. Keep the weeds away from the garden, apply Sf beneficial nematodes to any soil anywhere on or near your property, and plant the motherload of marigolds.

[Dewayne mater]

I agree with VC Scott - they have a quick life cycle and wiping them out once is virtually worthless. You have to hit the frequently and vary the approach because they quickly adapt to tolerating any chemical approach. If you do spray, focus on the tops and any areas with blooms and areas about to bloom. This is where they live. Being down inside the flower, it is difficult to get the spray where they are. I suspect a high powered, fine misting sprayer is going to be more effective.

Ginger - I want to order some of those traps. I am curious though because it seems they are attracted to yellow based on the fact they like Marigolds and tomato blossoms...why blue? Also, how many are you putting out and talk about the spacing and location of them please.

Ozone - be sure you have TSVW before you pull them because disease has been rampant in DFW with this epic rain year. 12.5 inches in May and rain on 20 of 26 days...the 6 six it didn't rain were high humidity and mostly cloudy. Oy! I've battled a ton of disease and gray mold has been raging. Defoliate the diseased leaves, spray with fungicides if you are inclined, fertilize and see what happens. I've used bleach spray 3 times this Spring and I believe it to be helpful under conditions like we have had this year. I've got a plant that I've removed 75% of the leaves and have clusters of green tomatoes exposed, but, the top 25% looks good so far! Others probably have 75% of their leaves still on and looking good. My habit is once disease is on a leaf, I remove it immediately and throw it away. It won't come back and it will spread to other leaves. Good luck!

Dewayne mater

[OzoneNY]

Originally Posted by creister

Lee,

Will the thrips wipe out the marigolds? I only ask so as to know how many to plant. Also, how close together do you plant your marigolds and tomatoes?

Good question. I remember years ago, my neighbor back in NY had two or 3 marigolds within a foot or so of the tomato plants. Much like the pawns around the king on a chess board. I do remember the marigolds seem to last the summer. I never understood why he always had marigolds near tomato plants.
Maybe that wacko was smarter than I gave him credit for.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by OzoneNY

Good question. I remember years ago, my neighbor back in NY had two or 3 marigolds within a foot or so of the tomato plants. Much like the pawns around the king on a chess board. I do remember the marigolds seem to last the summer. I never understood why he always had marigolds near tomato plants.
Maybe that wacko was smarter than I gave him credit for.

Planting marigold in veggies garden is an old tradition. It is not for a specific pest but believed to repel the insects . I planted some few years ago. They were eaten/ chewed up by something that I could not figure it out. That was the last time I planted marigold.

BTW: It was yellow/orange color

[VC Scott]

Originally Posted by Dewayne mater

I agree with VC Scott - they have a quick life cycle and wiping them out once is virtually worthless. You have to hit the frequently and vary the approach because they quickly adapt to tolerating any chemical approach. If you do spray, focus on the tops and any areas with blooms and areas about to bloom. This is where they live. Being down inside the flower, it is difficult to get the spray where they are. I suspect a high powered, fine misting sprayer is going to be more effective.

Ginger - I want to order some of those traps. I am curious though because it seems they are attracted to yellow based on the fact they like Marigolds and tomato blossoms...why blue? Also, how many are you putting out and talk about the spacing and location of them please.

Ozone - be sure you have TSVW before you pull them because disease has been rampant in DFW with this epic rain year. 12.5 inches in May and rain on 20 of 26 days...the 6 six it didn't rain were high humidity and mostly cloudy. Oy! I've battled a ton of disease and gray mold has been raging. Defoliate the diseased leaves, spray with fungicides if you are inclined, fertilize and see what happens. I've used bleach spray 3 times this Spring and I believe it to be helpful under conditions like we have had this year. I've got a plant that I've removed 75% of the leaves and have clusters of green tomatoes exposed, but, the top 25% looks good so far! Others probably have 75% of their leaves still on and looking good. My habit is once disease is on a leaf, I remove it immediately and throw it away. It won't come back and it will spread to other leaves. Good luck!

Dewayne mater

I forgot to mention that you should spray the underside of the leaves. That is where the thrips live, in addition to the flowers.

Also, you can check to see if you have thrips by taking a white sheet of paper, place it under the leaves and tap the top of the leaves. If thrips are present, you will see tiny brown/black specks on the paper that will start moving after a few seconds. The day after you spray you can test the effectiveness of the spraying by doing the same test. Hopefully, no more brown specks that move.

[ginger2778]

Dewayne, you can call me Marsha if you would like.
Your question about why the blue if tomato flowers are yellow got me to do some research. I found out that the Frankliniella Occidentalis, aka the Western Flower Thrip the one thats spreds TSWV,is actually more strongly attracted to the yellow color, so thank you, now I will only buy the yellow sticky traps, since they also work amazingly well for whiteflies and leafminers.
Heres the research link, where they used colored paper traps of white, yellow, and blue, and made clear traps as a control. Thank you for asking that question!http://biocontrol.ucr.edu/hoddle/ccbcdisk_g00001c.pdf
I put out my yellow traps about every 5-6 feet, tied on to the cage at plant new growth level, so they are moved up every few weeks.

Originally Posted by Dewayne mater

I agree with VC Scott - they have a quick life cycle and wiping them out once is virtually worthless. You have to hit the frequently and vary the approach because they quickly adapt to tolerating any chemical approach. If you do spray, focus on the tops and any areas with blooms and areas about to bloom. This is where they live. Being down inside the flower, it is difficult to get the spray where they are. I suspect a high powered, fine misting sprayer is going to be more effective.

Ginger - I want to order some of those traps. I am curious though because it seems they are attracted to yellow based on the fact they like Marigolds and tomato blossoms...why blue? Also, how many are you putting out and talk about the spacing and location of them please.

Ozone - be sure you have TSVW before you pull them because disease has been rampant in DFW with this epic rain year. 12.5 inches in May and rain on 20 of 26 days...the 6 six it didn't rain were high humidity and mostly cloudy. Oy! I've battled a ton of disease and gray mold has been raging. Defoliate the diseased leaves, spray with fungicides if you are inclined, fertilize and see what happens. I've used bleach spray 3 times this Spring and I believe it to be helpful under conditions like we have had this year. I've got a plant that I've removed 75% of the leaves and have clusters of green tomatoes exposed, but, the top 25% looks good so far! Others probably have 75% of their leaves still on and looking good. My habit is once disease is on a leaf, I remove it immediately and throw it away. It won't come back and it will spread to other leaves. Good luck!

Dewayne mater

[kurt]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Planting marigold in veggies garden is an old tradition. It is not for a specific pest but believed to repel the insects . I planted some few years ago. They were eaten/ chewed up by something that I could not figure it out. That was the last time I planted marigold.

BTW: It was yellow/orange color

http://blog.nola.com/dangill/2008/05...marigolds.html

[Lee]

I have 1~2 six packs spaced out among my 20~30 plants.
The thrips don't hurt the marigolds, and the only thing I've seen that
destroys them is the long eared rats that hop around the garden like they own the place.
I've got my marigolds inside the rabbit fencing and it seems to work great.

Lee

[Dewayne mater]

Thanks Marsha! These are definitely going to be one more arrow in the quiver!

I do want to say that Botanigard WP22 applied twice in 5 days seems to have significantly reduced my thrip population! This stuff is expensive! However, it is a fungus based product, so you can feel better about using it than chemicals. Speaking of chemicals, U Cal IPM program says to avoid pyrethroids, a common insecticide that I have used before, because it is an indiscriminate killer of beneficial insects and leads to spider mite outbreaks:

Insecticides to Avoid
The systemic organophosphate acephate (Lilly Miller Ready-to-Use Systemic, Orthene) is available for ornamental, nonfood plants. Avoid using it. Acephate can be highly toxic to natural enemies and pollinators and can cause spider mites to become abundant and damage plants after its application.

Avoid foliar sprays of other organophosphate insecticides (e.g., malathion), carbamates (carbaryl), or pyrethroids (e.g., bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, fluvalinate, and permethrin). These materials are highly toxic to natural enemies and pollinators, can cause spider mite outbreaks, and are not particularly effective against most thrips. Because their use in landscapes and gardens can run or wash off into storm drains and contaminate municipal wastewater, these insecticides are being found in surface water and are adversely affecting nontarget, aquatic organisms.

Unfortunately, if its not one thing its another...thrips battle going my way...leaf diseases kicking my booty! It looks like next week could spell the end of one of the wettest months in North Texas and I'm hoping to turn the tide with drier weather!

Dewayne

[OzoneNY]

Originally Posted by Dewayne mater

Thanks Marsha! These are definitely going to be one more arrow in the quiver!

I do want to say that Botanigard WP22 applied twice in 5 days seems to have significantly reduced my thrip population! This stuff is expensive! tors and can cause spider mites to become abundant and damage plants after its application.


Unfortunately, if its not one thing its another...thrips battle going my way...leaf diseases kicking my booty! It looks like next week could spell the end of one of the wettest months in North Texas and I'm hoping to turn the tide with drier weather!

Dewayne

I am also having the leaf disease problem now. Unfortunately when monsoon season ends it will go straight to broil. By then I am almost sure I will not have any tomato plants left.

[creister]

After following this thread, I believe I have thrips. Plants are loaded up with fruits to about 2-3 feet up and then nothing but leaves and empty flower trusses. Will start treatment now.

[OzoneNY]

Well thats all folks! TSWV owns my crop. I will pick the fruit this weekend and trash everything else. Good news is, the wild cherry tomato plants on the side of the garage seem to be unaffected, but all my San Marzano and Costuloto Genovese tomatos are done.

Any advice on how to get these green tomatos to ripen once I bring them inside?