Pests and diseases are major limitations for successful cultivation of grapes. As many as 94 species of insects and mites have been reported on grapes in India (Tandon and Verghese, 1994). Among various sucking pests, thrips are considered serious on grapes (Anon., 2000). Rhipiphorothrips cruentatus Hood and Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Terebrantia: Thripidae) were recorded infesting leaves and berries in India (Ananthakrishnan, 1971, Butani, 1979, Verghese and Kamala Jayanti 2001). The scab caused by thrips on fruit reduces quality and marketability. The present study was taken up to assess and status of different thrips species on foliage, inflorescence and at different stages of berry development. Location of survey and cultivars: Bijapur (Karnataka) and Sangli (Maharashtra), about 122 km away from Bijapur categorized under hot tropical region (between 150 and 200 N Longitude) are known for grape cultivation. Hence, these places were surveyed for thrips species between January 2005 and January 2006. All vines were pruned in September- October and subjected to different insecticides and fungicide treatment. Eight orchards during January, March and Thrips species composition on grapes in Karnataka and Maharashtra H.R. Ranganath, N.K. Krishna Kumar and Vikas Kumar Division of Entomology and Nematology Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore -560 089, India E-mail: hrr@iihr.ernet.in ABSTRACT A survey was undertaken to document species composition of thrips on grape foliage, inflorescence and different stages of berry development such as mustard size (2 mm), sorghum size (4 mm), pea size (8 mm) and beyond pea size (> 8 mm) berries at Bijapur in Karnataka and Sangli in Maharashtra during January 2005 to January 2006. Cultivars sampled were Thomson Seedless, Sonaka, Sharad Seedless, Tas-A-Ganesh, 2A and B5 clones of Thomson seedless. Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood constituted over 90% of total thrips sampled from new flushes, inflorescence and berries in different stages during January, February, March and December 2005 at Bijapur followed by Thrips palmi Karny (1- 4.3%); Thrips hawaiiensis (Morgan) a hitherto unknown thrips species on grape dominated inflorescence (98.0%) on cv. Sonaka during December 2005 in the same area. Similar trend was observed in the vineyards of Sangli. Number of thrips, which was more on inflorescence declined as the berry matured. Least number of thrips was observed on berries > pea size. As recorded in Bijapur, T. hawaiiensis was dominant species on inflorescence of 2A (98.6%) and B5 (99.4%) clones of Thompson seedless. In other cultivars S. dorsalis was dominant that formed 92.8 -100% of total thrips collected. Thrips palmi constituted 0.8-1.7% of thrips collected from different parts of grape vine. Other unidentified thrips constituted 0.9-7.2%. Key words: Inflorescence, Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips hawaiiensis, grapevine December 2005 and 11 orchards in February 2005 were surveyed at Bijapur (Thomson Seedless, Sonaka, Sharad Seedless). In Sangli 13 orchards were surveyed during January 2006 (Thomson Seedless, Tas-A-Ganesh, 2A & B5 clones of Thomson seedless) Sample: In January and December 2005 (Bijapur), fresh foliage, inflorescence and maturing fruit bunches (mustard size (2mm), sorghum size (4 mm), pea size (8 mm) and beyond pea size (> 8 mm berries) were sampled. In February 2005, out of 11 orchards 10 orchards had fruit bunches with pea size and > pea size berries and remaining one had sorghum size, pea size and > pea size berries. During March grape vines had bunches only with berries > pea size, Fresh foliage/ inflorescence (Bloom)/ fruit bunch in five randomly selected vines in each location were tapped twice over black paper using a stick (50 cm long). While sampling fruit bunches, bunches with mustard size (2 mm), sorghum size (4 mm), pea size (8 mm) and > pea sized berries (> 8 mm) were separately sampled. Thrips fallen on the black paper placed below were collected using a fine brush and transferred into 2 ml vials containing a mixture of 70% ethyl Short communication J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 3 (2): 172-175, 2008 173 alcohol, acetic acid (9:1 v/v) and 0.5ml Triton x 100. Each vial was labeled (sampling date, locality, cultivar sampled, part sampled etc.). Thrips in each vial were counted under a stereo-binocular microscope and slide mounts were prepared. Process consisted of clearing thrips (after giving a slant cut on the first two segments of the abdomen) in NaOH 5% for 7-8 h depending upon pigmentation, washed in distilled water, dehydration using grades of ethyl alcohol, clearing in Terpineol and mounting on clean slides (2 mm thick) using Canada balsam (Natural) mountant. Species were determined as per key provided by Vikas Kumar (2004) In January 2005 and December 2005 at Bijapur all surveyed orchards had all stages of the crop. While February and March showed maturing berries (different stages), mainly pea size (8 mm). At Sangli, orchards had stages from inflorescence to berries beyond pea size during January 2006. Results revealed that S. dorsalis dominated new flushes, inflorescence, and all stages of berries in a fruit bunch. However, fruit bunches beyond pea size harboured thrips in low number (1-28 thrips/bunch) and the number declined as the berries matured. Bijapur: Scirtothrips dorsalis constituted over 90% of total thrips sampled from new flushes, inflorescence and berries in different stages during January, February, March and December 2005, followed by T. palmi Karny (1- 4.3%) (Tables 1, 2 and 3). Thrips hawaiiensis Hood a hitherto unknown thrips species on grape was observed to dominate inflorescence on cv. Sonaka during December 2005. Thrips hawaiiensis formed 98.0% of total thrips counted on inflorescence (Table 4). However, sampling inflorescence of other cultivars during December did not show T. hawaiiensis, which needs to be rechecked. Number of thrips was maximum on inflorescence that declined as the Table 1. Incidence of grape thrips at different locations in Bijapur (January 2005) No. of thrips collected out of 2 tapings Location Variety Area(Acre) New foliage Inflor. Millet size Sorghum size Pea size > Pea size Thidugundi TS 5 16.7 87.2 12.5 12.7 6.0 2.5 Kadlivada TS 10 27.2 118.1 27.3 10.4 12.0 10.2 Kadlivada SS 4 36.5 127.2 47.1 29.4 10.0 8.2 Segunasi TS 2 37.3 112.7 60.2 32.6 23.1 18.5 Bableshwar TS 2 48.1 93.6 44.2 12.6 10.1 3.2 A. Tanda TS 5 21.7 86.6 31.2 27.1 18.6 4.3 Zalki TS 2 18.2 14.2 96.8 41.6 37.1 10.5 Galagali road TS 3 23.8 56.7 61.9 72.3 45.6 12.6 TS- Thomson Seedless, SS- Sharad Seedless S. dorsalis ranged from 90-98.4% of total thrips collected in all plant parts sampled Table. 2 Incidence of grape thrips at different locations in Bijapur (February 2005) No. of thrips collected out of 2 tapings Location Variety Area(Acre) New foliage Inflor Millet size Sorghum size Pea size > Pea size Kadlivada TS 10 6.3 —— —— —— 2 0 Kadlivada SS 4 12.2 —— —— —— 6 1 Bableshwar TS 2 8.6 —— —— —— 16 3 Bableshwar TS 2 14.8 —— —— 8.9 4 0 Bijapur- TS 2 6.5 —— —— —— 7 4 Aurangabad road A. Tanda TS 2 18.4 —— —— —— 4.3 Zalki TS 3 17.5 —— —— —— 1 Tajpur TS 2 11.2 —— —— —— 18 Galagali Road TS 4 23.6 —— —— —— 47 Aliabad TS 2 7.8 —— —— —— 28 TS 3 3.1 —— —— —— 22.5 TS- Thomson Seedless, SS- Sharad Seedless Species of thrips identified: New foliage: Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi Inflorescence: Scirtothrips dorsalis, T. palmi Millet size berry- S. dorslis Sorghum size berry- S. dorslis Pea size berry- S. dorsalis Thrips species on grapes J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 3 (2): 172-175, 2008 174 Table 3. Incidence of grape thrips at different locations in Bijapur (March 2005) No. of thrips collected out of 2 tapings Location Variety Area(Acre) New foliage Inflor Millet size Sorghum size Pea size > Pea size Bableshwar TS 2 8.7 —— —— —— —— 2.6 Bableshwar TS 1 2.7 —— —— —— —— 0 Aliabad TS 1 7.6 —— —— —— —— 0 Trikota TS 2 12.5 —— —— —— —— 2 Thidugundi TS 2 3.7 —— —— —— —— 2.5 A. Tanda TS 1 8.3 —— —— —— —— 5.2 Kadlivada TS 10 2.5 —— —— —— —— 2.6 Kadlivada SS 4 6.8 —— —— —— —— 1.5 TS- Thomson Seedless, SS- Sharad Seedless Species of thrips identified: New foliage: Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi Inflorescence: Scirtothrips dorsalis, T. palmi Millet size berry- S. dorslis Sorghum size berry- S. dorslis Pea size berry- S. dorsalis Table: 4. Incidence of grape thrips at different locations in Bijapur (December 2005) No. of thrips collected out of 2 tapings Location Variety Area(Acre) New foliage Inflor Millet size Sorghum size Pea size > Pea size Bableshwar TS 5 52.2 82.7 21.2 27.8 5.8 6.2 Bableshwar SK 2 26.0 42.8* 27.6 10.3 2.0 — Ayeri TS 2 46.5 - - 16.2 6.2 — A. Tanda TS 5 23.4 66.4 50.8 32.1 10.2 - Thidugundi TS 2 21.5 42.6 36.8 21.7 16.2 6.3 Thidugundi TS 1 17.2 96.5 54.2 36.4 14..8 Jumnal TS 2 22.5 58.2 45.5 39.6 8.8 - Segunasi TS 2 16.9 76.3 32.7 221.5 — — TS- Thomson Seedless, SK- Sonaka Dominant species of thrips identified: New foliage: Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi Inflorescence: Scirtothrips dorsalis, T. palmi Millet size berry- S. dorsalis Sorghum size berry- S. dorsalis Pea size berry- S. dorsalis * Thrips hawaiiensis constituted 98 % of the thrips collected on inflorescence berries matured. Other unidentified thrips formed 0.5 to 7% of the thrips collected from January to March and December 2005. Sangli: Similar trend was observed in the vineyards of Sangli. Number of thrips was maximum on inflorescence that declined as the berry matured. As observed in Bijapur, T. hawaiiensis was dominant species on inflorescence (cv. Sonaka) (Table 5). The same species shared 98.6% and 99.4% of thrips collected on inflorescence but on 2A and B 5 clones of Thomson Seedless, respectively in 2 different orchards at Tasgaon. In other cultivars viz, Thompson Seedless and Tas-a- Ganesh, S. dorsalis was dominant that formed 92.8 -100% of total thrips collected. Thrips palmi constituted 0.8-1.7% of thrips collected from different parts of grape vine. Other unidentified thrips constituted 0.9-7.2%. Harish (2000) observed that number of S. dorsalis was maximum in the vegetative and flowering stages (cv. Bangalore blue) as compared to berry maturation period in winter and summer pruned vines. However, number of thrips declined as the berry matured. In the present study also the number of thrips was maximum at inflorescence stage (Bloom) and declined as the berry matured on different cultivars. Schwartz (1988) recorded maximum number of T. tabaci Lindeman in blossom stage in South Africa. Similarly, Ripa et al (1993) reported colonization of T. tabaci during anthesis and nymphs fed on pollen and internal tissues of calyptra. Ananthakrishnan (1971) observed infestations of S. dorsalis on flower bunches and young berries of grapes resulting in reduced fruit set and development of corky layers and cracks on the surface of fruits. Rose is widely grown in Sangli. Rose flowers sampled in adjoining fields of grape orchards at two locations, Tasgaon and Savlaz showed severe infestation by T. Ranganath et al J. Hortl. Sci. Vol. 3 (2): 172-175, 2008 175 Table 5. Survey for thrips of grapes in Sangli (January 2006) No. of thrips collected out of 2 tapings Location Variety Area(Acre) New foliage Inflor Millet size Sorghum size Pea size > Pea size Kawlapur TS 2 12.6 30.7 23.6 7.3 10.6 3.2 Kawlapur Sonaka 1 52.3 - - 74.2 - - Tas gaon TS* 1 10.6 87.4 10.2 8.6 3.6 - Tas gaon TS* 2 22.6 45.6 27.1 18.2 11.6 - Savlej TS 4 23.1 58.6 27.1 18.6 20.6 11.3 Savlej TAG 1 6.7 - - 25.6 11.5 12.7 Savlej TS 3 43.2 - - 56.2 35.5 - Savlej TS** 1 23.5 85.2 69.6 48.1 - - Khanapur TAG 4- 26.5 - - 19.2 17.6 Khanapur Sonaka 4 18.7 43.4 24.6 Biranwadi TAG 2 38.6 - - 25.4 12.8 Balaudi TS 5 88.5 136.2 87.5 87.2 41.2 Manerajouri TS* 2 79.3 116.7 79.4 66.5 47.8 S- Sonaka, TS- Thomson Seedless, TS*- 2A clone of Thomson Seedless, TS**- B5 clone of Thomson Seedless, TAG- Tas- a- Ganesh * T. hawaiiensis constituted 98.6% of the total thrips counted in inflorescence ** T. hawaiiensis constituted 99.4% of the total thrips counted in inflorescence (MS Received 19 August 2008, Revised 1 December 2008) hawaiiensis. It is likely that T. hawaiiensis, a polyphagous pest has moved to adjoining grape orchards to infest bloom. However, it is important to establish the role of T. hawaiiensis if any, in scaring/ scabbing of berries as damage inflicted at “bloom” brings down the quality of grapes. Further, it needs to be found out by extensive survey whether T. hawaiiensis cross over to cultivars other than Sonaka and clones of Thompson seedless. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We wish to express our sincere thanks to Dr. G. S. Prakash, Principal Scientist & Head, Division of Fruit crops, I.I.H.R, Bangalore for critically going through the manuscript. We thank the Director, I.I.H.R, Bangalore for encouragement. First author acknowledges the financial assistance provided by Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka under the project Bio-ecology of thrips vectors of watermelon Bud Necrosis (WBNV). REFERENCES: Ananthakrishnan, T.N. 1971. 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