Occurrence and spread of invasive thrips Thrips parvispinus (Karny) in north India

The invasive thrips Thrips parvispinus (Karny) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an important insect pest causing severe damage in chilli-growing areas of south India in the last two years. In the present study, its spread in north and central India in chilli and capsicum is discussed along with diagnosis, occurrence, damage symptoms. A high level of infestation (ranging from 8-12 thrips/ flower) was observed on chilli crop in Madhya Pradesh (Khargone, Khandwa, Satna, Narasinghpur, Dhar) and on capsicum hybrids in Haryana (Ambala, Panchkula and Panipat) grown under greenhouse. However, its infestation was less (1-3 thrips/ flower) in chilli crop at Chhattisgarh (Bastar, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Balod bazar, Durg).