Subramanian, S1*, A. Mayamba2, P. Sseruwagi2, Aisu G2 and A Ochaki2
1International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya, ssubramania@icipe.org, 2National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge, Uganda,
Tomatoes are grown extensively by small-holders across East Africa as a high-value horticultural crop for the local market. Its production is seriously constrained by several arthropod pests and diseases. Thrips are among the most frequently reported pests of tomato in the region and they also vector tospovirus diseases. It is of crucial importance to understand the diversity of thrips, especially vectors of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, for their effective management. Hence a region wide survey on thrips fauna associated with tomato in over 60 locations was undertaken across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Representative thrips samples from the field were processed and identified using the LucID key, Pest thrips of the world (2004) and the key by Palmer et al. (1992), and a reference collection has been established. More than 12 thrips species occurred on tomato including Ceratothripoides spp., invasive western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande, 1895), Frankliniella schutzei (Trybom, 1910) and Thrips tabaci (Lindeman 1988), which were the dominant species. The average thrips density per plant was more in mid altitude regions (1250 – 1500m) (24.5±9.7) in comparison to the low (<1250m)>2000m). The diversity of thrips collected on tomato varied considerably with the altitudinal gradient with less thrips species in low and mid altitude regions, with Ceratothripoides spp. being the dominant species both in lowlands (85.9%, n=251) and mid altitude regions (88.1%, n=123). In the highlands the diversity was higher with the WFT being the dominant species (42.8%, n=29). The invasive WFT was found to be wide spread in Kenya on different crops (16%, n=2171), while it was not prevalent in Uganda (0.19%, n=523) and Tanzania (1.38%, n=145). Therelevance of these findings to the management of thrips and tospoviruses on tomato in East Africa are discussed.
Keyword: Diversity, Abundance, Ceratothripoides spp., Western Flower Thrips, Tomato, East Africa
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Evaluation of thrips and tospovirus diversity in vegetable ecosystems