Species Diversity of Thrips on Cotton

Exploratory surveys were conducted to study the diversity of thrips species on cotton at Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu. Taxonomic studies revealed the presence of three species, viz. Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood,Thrips palmi Karny and Thrips tabaci Lindeman on leaves and four species, viz. Thrips florum Schmutz,Thrips hawaiiensis (Morgan), Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom) and Thrips parvispinus (Karny) in flowers.T. parvispinus is one of the notorious pest species of South East Asia and also a serious pest of quarantineimportance. F. schultzei, S. dorsalis, T. palmi and T. tabaci are notorious pests as well as vectors of plantviruses. Since these species may attain major pest status, the report demands regular monitoring andsurveys in cotton.