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Insects Injurious to the Onion Crop

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Insects Injurious to the Onion Crop INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE ONION CROP. By F. H. CHITTENDEN, SC. D., Bureau of Entomology, INTRODUCTION. The onion and other bulb crops of similar structure are very seriously affected by insects when growing in the field. About six species of plants are included in this group—^the common onion, Welsh onion, leek, garlic, chives or sives, and shallot. Of these only the common onion is grown to any extent in North America. Compara- tively few insects appear to be especially attached to onions, but of these several are very important pests. All are of foreign origin. The list includes forms such as the onion thrips, the root maggots, and such general pests as cutworms, army worms, wireworms, white grubs, and a few other species such as the strawberry thrips. Those listed as general pests are all more or less onmivorous. Doubt- less were it not for the pungent odor of the onion and its kind it would be resorted to for food by many insects other than those which have been mentioned. The most important of all of these insects is the onion thrips (Thrips tahaci Lind.). A census of the years 1908, 1909, and 1910 shows a steady increase in acreage devoted to onion growing in different regions. In one cen- tered about Stark County, Ind., the increase has been great. In 1910, 1,500 acres were planted to this crop, and in spite of serious injury sustained from the thrips and some other insects the growers realized such a high percentage of profit that the following year the acreage was doubled. As an example of the profit from onion growing in this region it was claimed by one prominent grower who farms in Indiana as well as in Illinois that his income on onions was 15 times as great as on wheat and com. The damage due to the onion thrips in the Stark County (Ind.) region was estimated at $54,000 in 1910, and with double the acreage for 1911 this would have caused a loss of $108,000 for this region alone. Fortunately, however, this loss was not realized, since the insects were not so numerous as in the previous year. THE ONION THRIPS. {Thrips talaci Lind.) Our most serious onion pest is of almost microscopic dimensions, generally known as the onion thrips or " thrip." It is also called the ol9 320 YEABBOOK OF THE DEPABTMENT OF AGBICULTURE. " onion louse." It causes injury to the onion crop practically through- out the country, producing a condition somewhat generally known as " white blast," " white blight," and '' silver top." It is also the cause of " scullions," or " thick-neck"—^undeveloped and unmarketable bulbs. In aggravated cases whole fields, and sometimes large areas, are ren- dered unproductive, and in extreme cases are completely destroyed. The whitened appearance of the onion leaves and tops is due to the ex- traction of the vital juice, first by rasping, followed by suction. In a short time after attack begins the leaves become peculiarly curled, crinkled, and twisted, and finally die down prematurely. (See Pis. XXIV and XXV, showing the difference between normal and thrips- infested onions.) The importance which this thrips has assumed since about 1904 is such that a considerable proportion of those who have been en- gaged in investigation of truck-crop insects in the Bureau of Ento- mology have devoted more or less time to its investigation and in the practical application of remedies. This work has to date cov- FiG. 1.—The onion thrips (Thrips tobad): a. Adult; h, enlarged antenna of same; Cj small nymph ; d, older nymph. All enlarged. (Reengraved after Howard.) ered five years. The principal work in the field has been done by Mr. H. M. Eussell in Florida, by Messrs. D. K. McMillan and H. O. Marsh in Texas, by Mr. Marsh in Colorado, and by Mr. M. M. High in Texas and Indiana. DESCEIPTION. The general appearance of both sexes of this thrips, which are very similar, is shown in figure 1, a, highly magnified. The adult insect is pale yellow in color, with the thorax somewhat darker. The wings are still paler yellow, with dusky fringes and bristles. A full- grown nymph or larva is shown at d^ and a younger one at o. The egg is bean-shaped, semitransparent, and is deposited by the female just beneath the epidermis of a leaf. HISTORY AND HABITS. Onion thrips may now be found in practically all cultivated fields in the United States, as well as in many uncultivated areas where INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE ONION CROP. 321 suitable food plants for its sustenance are growing, so that there is always danger of infestation to onions and other susceptible crops, whether grown in new or in old land. Observations tend to demonstrate that in some localities, at least, it makes little difference as to the previous crop. Nevertheless there can be no doubt that, taking the country at large, there is always grave danger of infestation to onion fields where crop rotation is not practiced and where onions follow onions or other susceptible plants, and where culls and other refuse from onion beds are allowed to accumulate in and near fields to be replanted in onions. There is little evidence available that the quality of the soil has in itself much bearing on the degree of infestation. Owing to the minute size of thrips, it is a matter of some diffi- culty to investigate their full life histories, and it is particularly difficult to generalize without knowing more of the habits of the important groups. The following, however, is approximate: The parent thrips is usually found on the lower side of leaves or embedded in flowers. The female, by means of a tiny saw-like organ with which she is provided near the end of the abdomen, cuts a slit, in a leaf or stem usually^ and in this deposits an egg^ generally in- serting it under the epidermis concealed from view. Here the egg hatches in a few days, and the young thrips works its WSLJ out and begins to feed. The thrips larvae suck the juices of the plants in the same manner as do the adults, and, since they feed continuously, their growth is rapid. In one or two weeks, depending upon the tempera- ture, they cease feeding and seek a suitable location in which to transform to the final stage of the nymph and from that stage to the adult. The life cycle from the time of deposition of the eggs until the maturing of the adult has been found to require, under the most favorable conditions—that is, in a warm temperature—about three weeks. Half a dozen or more generations might thus be produced during a season. It should be added in regard to the life history of this thrips that infestation may be complicated by the attacks of other insects, such as the red spider, when growing in greenhouses (see PL XXVI, middle figure) or by cutworms and wireworms in the field (see PI. XXXII). FOOD PLANTS. Besides onions and related plants, this thrips attacks cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, cucumber, melon, pumpkin, squash, kale, turnip, tomato, seed beets, blackberry, and strawberry. Of ornamental plants it does much injury to carnations and roses and more or less injury to aster, blanket flower {Gaillardia)^ honey- suckle {Lonicera)^ daisies, nasturtium, narcissus, mignonette, candy- 73029°—YBK 1912 ^21 322 YEAEBOOK OF THE DEPABTMENT OF AGEICULTUKB tuft {Iheria)^ four-o'clock (Mirahilis), and cone-flower or golden- glow {Eiidheckia). Very serious injury is frequently committed to cucumbers and carnations in greenhouses, the dam- age sometimes amount- ing to the destruction of entire plantings. Among field and forage crops, tobacco has been injured by this thrips in Europe, but not in America, so far as we know, and there are rec- ords of occurrences on FIG. 2.—The spotted ladybird (Megilla maculata) : a Larva ; hj empty pupal skin ; c^ beetle with en timothy and other grasses, larged antenna above. All enlarged. (Author's clover and sweet clover, illustration.) and wheat. It also breeds on a great variety of weeds, a list of which would fill considerable space. NATURAL CONTROL. It is well known that rain, and especially sudden and driving storms, frequently destroys great numbers of this insect. This has FIG. 3.—Thripoctenus russclU: Adult. Greatly enlarged, (From Russell.) come under the notice of practically everyone who has studied thrips. Among other methods of natural control are ladybirds of several species, the spotted ladybird {Megilla maculata De G.) (fig. 2) lead- ing in this respect. About second in importance is the so-called insidious flower bug {Triphleps insidiosus Say). There is also a INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE ONION CKOP. 323 natural parasite which has only recently been discovered by Mr. Eu&° sell, of this bureau. It is known as Thripoctenus russelli Crawf. (See fig. 3.) A long list of other insect enemies might be added. TREATMENT. The methods of treating onion fields affected by the onion thrips are complicated. Kerosene emulsion, whale-oil or fish-oil soaps, and tobacco or nicotine extracts are good remedies. Because of their minute size thrips are diíBcult to reach except in their younger stages; hence remedial measures should be undertaken early in the season to act as preventives rather than cures. The habit of the thrips of concealing themselves in ñowers and other parts of plants, such as the sheaths of onion leaves, increases this difficulty. Too great stress can not be laid on the value of clean methods of field management, as the onion thrips feeds on nearly all vegetables and many flowering plants and is a pest in greenhouses.
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