Mango (Mangifera indica L.), one of the major fruit crops of India, is known as the king of fruits for its sweetness, excellent flavour, delicious taste and high nutritive value (Singh, 1968). It is attacked by several pests during its vegetative and reproductive phases, and the pests have been studied in detail (Tandon and Verghese, 1985). During the reproductive phase of the crop, pests like hoppers and thrips pose a threat to mango production. Control of these pests, particularly in organically-grown orchards, is a challenge. During a trial in 2009 at Moorapoor Village, Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu for control of hoppers and thrips using entomo-pathogens, inflorescences showed incidence of thrips. Samples of inflorescences collected at random were brought in pin-hole aerated polythene bags to the laboratory, for segregation of the thrips under microscope based on morphological differences. The thrips were held in 80% alcohol until identification. Level of infestation was scored as follows: Thrips population Infestation Difenoconazole (No. of nymphs + adults level per inflorescence) No thrips Nil 0 1-5 Low 1 6-10 Medium 2 11-20 Heavy 3 > 21 Very heavy 4 Short communication Record of thrips on mango A. Krishnamoorthy and P.N. Ganga Visalakshi Division of Entomology and Nematology Indian Institute of Horticultural Research Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bangalore – 560 089, India E- mail: akmurthy@icar.org.in ABSTRACT During a trial in 2009 at Moorapoor Village, Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, for control of mango hoppers and thrips using entomo-pathogens, inflorescences were seen to harbour different species of thrips. Close microscopic observation revealed presence of Frankliniella schultzei (Tryb.), Thrips palmi Karny, T. hawaiiensis (Morgan) and T. subnudula. However, Thrips palmi was the predominant species whereas, for the first time Frankliniella schultzai and Thrips subnudula (Karny, 1927) are reported here on inflorescence of mango in India. Key words: Mango, thrips Following thrips species were collected from Moorapoor Village on mango inflorescences: Date of Type of orchard Species Level of collection collected infestation 26/02/2009 Organic cultivation Frankliniella 1 schultzei 09/03/2009 Organic cultivation -do- 1 20/03/2009 Organic cultivation -do- 1 Organic cultivation Thrips palmi 3 Organic cultivation Thrips hawaiiensis 2 Organic cultivation Thrips subnudula 1 Of the four species of thrips collected from mango inflorescence, Thrips palmi Karny was observed to be dominant, followed by T. hawaiensis (Morgan). All the species of thrips however, were seen around the same time but never produced severe lesions on fruits, except in isolated samples. But, the grower reported severe lesions on fruits in 2008, which led to discard of many of the fruits from organic mango export. Mango inflorescence is known to be attacked by Thrips palmi (Verghese et al, 1988). Also, Megalurothrips distalis (Karny), Thrips hawaiiensis and Haplothrips tenuipennis Bagnall have been recorded from Andhra Pradesh (Ramasubbarao and Thammiraju, 1994; Kannan and Rao, 2006a, b). Scirtothrips mangiferae Hood and S. dorsalis Hood were reported by Kumar and Bhatt (1999) and Kumar et al (1994), respectively, from Gujarat. J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 7(1):110-111, 2012 111 Record of thrips on mango Scirtothrips mangiferae, S. dorsalis, Rhipiphorothrips cruentatus Hood were reported on mango from Cuttack by Sushil Kumar et al (2002) and R. cruentatus was reported from Haryana (Dahiya and Lakra, 2001). Pantachaetothrips sp., Selenothrips rubrocinctus Giard, Caliothrips impurus Priesner, besides Scirtothrips dorsalis, were reported on mango rootstock (Patel et al, 1997). However, Selenothrips rubrocinctus was reported from Kerala on mango (Ananthakrishnan and Muraleedharan, 1974). Earlier, Frankliniell schultzei (Tryb.) has been observed in India on flowers of sesame (Kumar and Ananthakrishnan, 1984) and groundnut (Palmer et al, 1990). Whereas, for the first time, F. schultzei and Thrips subnudula (Karny, 1927) are reported here on inflorescence of mango in India. Perhaps more intensive study is warranted on natural-enemy complex of the thrips species collected from mango orchards before biocontrol agents can be applied as a control measure. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors are grateful to Dr. Kaomud Tyagi and Dr. H.R. Ranganath, for identification of thrips up to the species level. They are also thankful to Director, IIHR, Bangalore, for the facilities provided. REFERENCES Ananthakrishnan, T.N. and Muraleedharan, N. 1974. On the incidence and effects of infestation of Selenothrips rubrocinctus (Giard) (Thysanoptera: Heliothripinae) on the free amino-acids of some susceptible host plants. Curr. Sci., 43:216-218 Dahiya, K.K. and Lakra, R.K. 2001. Seasonal occurrence and succession of thrips, Rhipiphorothrips cruentatus Hood in important horticultural crops of Haryana. Crop Res. (Hisar), 21:112-114 Kannan, M. and Rao, N.V. 2006a. Seasonal incidence and population fluctuation of Dipteran, Isopteran, Hymenopteran and Thysanopteran pests of mango. J. Pl. Prot. Envir., 3:50-55 Kannan, M. and Rao, N.V. 2006b. Influence of age and stage of the host plant on insect pests of mango (Mangifera indica L.). Int’l. J. Agril. Sci., 2: 351-353 Kumar, N.S. and Ananthakrishnan, T.N. 1984. Predator- thrips interactions with reference to Orius maxidentex Ghauri and Carayonocoris indicus Muraleedharan (Anthocoridae: Heteroptera). Proc. Ind. Nat’l. Sci. Acad., B. 50:139-145 Kumar, S. and Bhatt, R.I. 1999. Field evaluation of plant leaf extracts, oil and neem products against mango hopper (Amritodus atikinsoni Lethierry) and thrips (Scirtothrips mangiferae Hood). Allelopathy J., 6:271-276 Kumar, S., Patel, C.B., Bhatt, R.I. and Rai, A.B. 1994. Population dynamics and insecticidal management of the mango thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in South Gujarat. Pest Mgt. Eco. Zool., 2:59-62 Palmer, J.M. Reddy, D.V.R. Wightman, J.A. and Rao, G.V.R. 1990. New information on the thrips vectors of tomato spotted wilt virus in groundnut crop in India. Int’l. Arachis Newslett., 7:24-25 Patel, J.R., Patel, M.B., Radadia, G.C., Shah, A.A. and Pandya, H.V. 1997. Insect pest management in mango nursery. J. Appl. Hort. (Navsari), 3:125-128 Ramasubbarao, V. and Thammiraju, N.B. 1994. New record of blossom thrips Megalurothrips distalis on mango (Mangifera indica). Ind. J. Agril. Sci., 64 : 417-418 Singh, L.B. 1968. The Mango: Botany, Cultivation and Utilization, p: 438. World Crop Books, Leonard Hill, London Tandon, P.L. and Verghese, A. 1985. World List of Insect, Mite and other Pests of Mango, p. 22, Technical Document No. 5, IIHR, Bangalore Sushil Kumar, Nair, A.G. and Bhatt, R.I. 2002. Evaluation of promising and released mango hybrids for multiple pest resistance. J. Appl. Zool. Res., 13:66-68 Verghese, A. Tandon, P.L. and Rao, G.S.P. 1988. Ecological studies relevant to the management of Thrips palmi Karny on mango in India. Tropical Pest Mgt., 34:55-58 (Ms Received 26 February 2011, Revised 26 October 2011) J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 7(1):110-111, 2012