TEA :: MAJOR PEST :: PESTS OF TEA

9. Thrips: Scirtothips bispinosus (Thripidae: Thysanoptera)

Damage symptoms
Thrips lacerate leaf tissues and suck oozing sap. Lacerations appear as brownish irregular streaks or silvery patches on the leaf surface. Infested leaves become distorted, crinkled or mottled.  Damage is more pronounced in exposed areas during dry weather.
Bionomics : Adults are minute. Wings are characteristically fringed with fine hairs. Thrips insert eggs singly into the leaf tissues. Eggs hatch in 9 days. There are two nymphal instars followed by prepupal and pupal stages. The pupae remain on the leaf, or drop to the ground. Immature stages last for 3 weeks. Under favourable conditions, there could be 12 generations in a year.
Management

• Maintain optimum overhead shade.

• Spray any of the following insecticides viz., endosulfan 35 EC 500 ml,  malathion 50 EC 400-500 ml, chlorpyriphos 20 EC 500 ml, dimethoate 30 EC 200-300 ml or ethion 50 EC 500 ml or profenofos 50 EC 800-1000 ml with 500 L water/ha.