ABSTRACT
Effect of Trap Color on Catches of Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: thripidae) in Sweet Peppers (Capsicum annum L.)

Patricia Larraín S.1*; Francisco Varela U.2, Carlos Quiroz E.1 y Fernando Graña S.1
 

Experiments were conducted in order to determine color preference of thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande) in sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)crops in the localities of Cerrillos de Tamaya (30° S lat; 71°16’ W long) and Pan de Azúcar (29°55’ S lat; 71°14’ W long), IV Region, Chile. Blue, white, white-blue, and yellow sticky traps were compared in a randomized complete block design experiment. Results showed that F. occidentalis was the predominant species in the pepper crop. In the blue, white-blue and white traps significantly more thrips were caught than in the yellow traps, when the number of captures was more than 300 thrips per week per trap. The results were erratic with lower numbers of captures.

Keywords: Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, F. australis, Thrips tabaci, color preference, sticky traps, sweet pepper.
1 Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Centro Regional de Investigación Intihuasi, Apartado Postal 36/B, La Serena, Chile. E-mail: plarrain@inia.cl *Autor para correspondencia.
2 Alumno tesista. Universidad de La Serena, Campus Limarí, Avda. La Paz s/n, Ovalle, Chile.