Page 22 - Griffin Gazette Issue 1 - 2018

By Rick Yates, GGSPro Technical Services Manager
Foliar assault Are you looking for that game-
stopping, winner-take-all word
for your next Scrabble game?
I have a suggestion for you:
or ground Entomopathogenic. I must
admit, though, that I haven’t
checked to see if the Scrabble
board has enough spaces to
hold it.
attack? insects by releasing a bacteria that’s harmless to the
Entomopathogenic nematodes
cause the death of certain

nematode but deadly to the insect. Steinernema feltiae
is an example of such a nematode that’s been used
with good success against fungus gnat larvae for many
years. More recently, this nematode has been used
to combat Western flower thrips with varying degrees
of success.
This article attempts to describe the use patterns
most likely to succeed versus thrips, as well as
application techniques and strategies that maximize
nematode effectiveness.
How to plan the
perfect ambush
Anecdotally, some growers
have reported success
with foliar applications
of nematodes to control
thrips. This has left more
than one entomologist
scratching their head, since Thrips pupae,
research indicates that Photo credit: D.K.B. Cheung
mortality rates from this
i
type of application are generally low. S. feltiae is as
Thrips feeding damage on calibrachoa much an ambush nematode, (lying in wait to pounce on
its prey), as it is a forager. Chasing down fast-moving
thrips in a puddle of water on the foliage of plants would
22 | Griffin Gazette 2018