Abstract:
Thrips species injurious to grapes are known as pests in vineyards all over the world and
belong to the main pests of grapes in West Azarbaijan, Iran. In this study, thrips species
occurring in West Azarbaijan vineyards were identified and the predominant species
documented according to their relative abundance at different growth stages. The seasonal
abundance of predominant species was investigated by means of yellow sticky trap catches
and weekly sampling from vegetative and reproductive organs of vines. Five species
including: Rubiothrips vitis (Priesner), Thrips tabaci Lindeman, Tenothrips discolor (Karny),
Tenothrips reichardti (Priesner), and Limothrips angulicornis Jablonowski, were collected
and identified. R. vitis, constituting 92 and 66 percent of the thrips population on vegetative
and reproductive organs, respectively, was found to be predominant. T. tabaci was not
found on vegetative organs, but it was found to constitute 32 percent of the thrips found on
reproductive organs (flowers). The two species R.vitis and T. reichardti are new records for
the Iranian fauna. The number of adult thrips caught by sticky traps was positively
correlated with the density of the adults on vegetative (buds and leaves) and reproductive
(flower) organs in the first and second generations, respectively.
