Entrapment FV provides superior thrip control on apples

Western flower thrips are attracted to the blossoms of apples as well as orchard cover crops and weeds, resulting in fruit damage. Attune Agriculture conducted a trial with Fuji apples in Pasco, WA in 2022 with Entrapment FV to evaluate its efficacy.

The primary damage from western flower thrips is from egg-laying punctures in newly formed fruit, which typically occur before petal fall. The egg-laying site develops into a tiny russetted spot surrounded by an irregular yellow patch known as a “pansy spot” (as it resembles the shape of a pansy). Granny Smith and other green varieties as well as Rome Beauty and McIntosh show more damage from this pest. The treatment threshold is typically 1 or more thrips per apple blossom.

Attune Agriculture conducted a trial in an orchard with Fuji variety apples located 15 miles north of Pasco, WA in 2022. Entrapment FV @ 0.125% was compared to Blackhawk® (spinosad) @ 6 fl oz/A. On July 14^th, the average thrip count reached 0.93 per blossom. Applications were made the following day using an air blast sprayer and a spray volume of 100 gallons per acre. A second application was made 10 days after the first application. The evaluation parameter used for the study was number of thrips per leaf. Evaluations were conducted on 0, 1, 3, 7, 14 (4 after 2^nd application), and 21 (11 after 2^nd application) days after application. Leaves were collected from treated trees, placed in a plastic bag, and taken to a lab. A brush system was used to remove thrips from leaves and counted under magnification.

Apart from one evaluation date, the infestation level in the untreated plots over the evaluation period was quite consistent, ranging from 0.9 to 1.1. On the final evaluation, Blackhawk treated plots had 70% fewer thrips than the untreated, whereas Entrapment FV had 80% fewer thrips, a 14.3% improvement. With season thrip counts, a sum of counts from all evaluations, Entrapment FV had 50.2% fewer thrips than Blackhawk.  

This trial demonstrates that Entrapment FV provides superior thrip control compared to one of the leading chemical insecticides. Entrapment FV and spinosyns, both spinosad and spinetoram, are among the only insecticides that can be used for thrip control on apples when they are flowering due to their low bee toxicity.