(1st Place) Triple threat: Combining multiple IPM tactics to control thrips in peppers

Pepper production is a vital industry in the Midwest, and regularly contributes on average approximately 60 million to the regional economy. However, this industry is threatened by a suite of arthropod pests, being one of the most significant pests for pepper growers, the western flower thrips (WFT) (Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande). Western flower thrips are responsible for annual production losses mainly due to inducing flower abortion, early fruit drop, and Tospovirus transmission, and the current management of thrips relies solely on chemical control, which poses several problems, including long-term pest resistance, adverse effects on natural enemy communities, and higher production costs. Previous research has identified potential thrips management approaches including reducing soil fertility, using reflective mulches, and applying insecticides at threshold densities. Thus, we examined the impact of these management practices in a factorial experiment (27 treatments total) looking at the combined effect of different insecticide programs (weekly, threshold-based, untreated control) paired with different mulch types (reflective, black, and bare ground) and fertility regimes (grower fertilizer program, sufficiency-based fertilizer program and unfertilized control). This tri-partite IPM program reduced insecticide applications through the adoption of threshold-based insecticide programs and the use of reflective mulches to delay early season thrips infestation, in addition to a decrease in fertility rates, thereby promoting the natural enemy community responsible for natural pest control, slow pest populations and reduce fertility-associated pollution resulting in a decrease in production costs, setting back insecticide resistance and in the promotion of more resilient agroecosystems.