Abstract

ECHEVERRI FLOREZ, Fernando; LOAIZA MARIN, Carlos Eduardo  and  CANO ORTIZ, Magnolia del Pilar. RECOGNITION AND IDENTIFICATION OF PHYTOPHAGOUS THRIPS (THYSANOPTERA: THRIPIDAE) AND PREDATORS (THYSANOPTERA: PHLAEOTHRIPIDAE) ASSOCIATED WITH COMMERCIAL CULTIVATIONS OF AVOCADO Persea spp. IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF CALDAS AND RISARALDA, COLOMBIA. Rev. Fac. Nac. Agron. Medellín [online]. 2004, vol.57, n.1, pp.2178-2189. ISSN 0304-2847.

Three commercial avocado (Persea sp.) cultivars were studied in the municipalities of Palestine (Caldas) and Pereira and Marseilles (Risaralda), evaluating trees in production of ages of five to eight years, including for the three places the varieties Santana, Choquette, Booth 8, Trinidad and Trapp. Also, in the orchard of Pereira the variety Fuchsia was included. In all, the damage and distortions attributed to the action of thrips was verified. For the material considered, ten samples were made in each locality with a biweekly frequency, choosing in each sample one tree per variety. In each tree selected, 36 samples were taken as follows: three per stratum (high, intermediate and low), four per cardinal point (north, south, east and west), and from three structures of the plant (tender leaves, flowers, and developing fruits), for a total of 360 samples for each avocado variety in each of the three sampling localities. Thrips were extracted from each sample, separating the morphs according to a reference collection previously established; morphs were quantified and the identification process was undertaken. In total, four morphs associated with avocado cultivation were identified; including two phytophagous species: Selenothrips rubrocinctus Giard and Frankliniella gardeniae Moulton, the latter a new report for a phytophagous species associated with avocado, according to Mound (1998), and the genera Leptothrips and Karnyothrips with predatory habits. A widespread prevalence of F. gardeniae was found for the three localities, as compared to the other three morphs, occurring mainly in the floral structures and, to a lesser degree, in tender buds and developing fruits. Thrips did not exhibit a preference for specific locations in terms of their vertical and horizontal distribution in the tree canopy. Damage to avocado attributable to thrips was verified, demonstrating in the plantations: In fruit: Deformed pericarp, parthenocarpus, whitish halos. In flowers: Abundant flower dropping and necrosis. In leaves: Leaf blade and rust stains, and in branches: Deformations, internode length reductions, hyperplasia and the so called "branch whip". With relationship to the susceptibility of the different materials to damage, the Santana variety was the one that showed the greatest symptoms attributable to thrips, and the Choquette and Fuchsia varieties were those that showed fewer symptoms.

Keywords : Frankliniella gardeniae; Slenothrips rubrocincts; Kamiotrips sp.; Leptotrips sp.; varieties; avocado; Persea spp.; damage.

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