Eco-friendly control of Thrips tabaci in garlic with a mixture of Beauveria bassiana and potassium silicate

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate a mixture of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana and potassium silicate – a plant-resistance inducer – for thrips management. Three-year field experiments (2017-2019) were carried out using the Ito garlic cultivar, from 25−100 days after germination, with adults of Thrips tabaci monitored fortnightly via sticky traps. Temperature, humidity, wind speed, and planted area were correlated with thrips populations. Treatments including B. bassiana, potassium silicate, chlorfenapyr, and a mixture of the fungus and silicate delayed thrips population peaks, in comparison with the controls. The fungus-silicate mixture outperformed chlorfenapyr and individual treatments in 2019, maintaining thrips populations below the control threshold of 20 thrips per plant. The number of thrips varied between years and treatments, and the population dynamics did not correlate solely with the planted area. The fungus-silicate mixture is a promising, sustainable approach for T. tabaci management in garlic cultivation, offering an alternative for biopesticide development and integrated pest management strategies.