First Report of New Invasive Thrips, Thrips parvispinus (Karny) (Thripidae: Thysanoptera) in Chilli Fields of Umreth in Anand District of Gujarat State

During November 2021, a new invasive thrips Thrips parvispinus was recorded in chilli growing areas of Telangana state. In India, this pest was first reported on papaya (Carica papaya L.) and later on Brugmansia sp. (Solanaceae) and Dahlia rosea Cav. (Asteraceae). Based on these reports and alert received from ICAR-NBAIR, Bengaluru, a survey was carried out on new invasive thrips in major chilli growing areas of Anand district of Gujarat state. Incidence of T. parvispinus was noticed during the survey. The high population of invasive thrips (14-16 thrips/flower/plant) was recorded in chilli fields of Umreth taluka of Anand district and low population (4-6 thrips/flower/plant) was recorded in chilli fields of Anand, Anklav, Borsad, Petald, Sojitra and Tarapur talukas. It is highly essential to adopt IPM based strategies for the management of this invasive pest in chilli.