Control of Thrips Infesting Gladiolus Flowers with Foliar-Applied Insecticides, 1996

Plots were established at the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Field Research Center of Colorado State University, located northeast of Ft. Collins, CO. The site used was three furrow-irrigated rows of plants, each separated into 10 ft plots (8 plants at 1 ft o.c, 2 ft gap separating each plot). The experimental design used was a CRD with four replications. Treatments were applied on 2 Sep with a compressed-air sprayer to the point of run-off. Plots were sampled at one day and four days (3 and 6 Sep) after foliar applications. Sampling was done by removing 3 blossoms from each plot and returning them to the laboratory where they were refrigerated until further processing. Refrigeration prevented subsequent predation by Orius sp. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) present in the plots. For the 1 DAT sample, the three blossoms were rinsed with 75% EtOH directly into a counting dish for examination. For the 4 DAT sample, the three blossoms were rinsed with 75% EtOH through a #14 and #250 mesh sieves. Contents collected on the #250 mesh sieve were rinsed into a dish for examination and counting under a dissecting microscope at 15 X normal magnification.