Neonicotinoid Resistance in Tobacco Thrips: What Can We Learn from This Problem?

The widespread occurrence of resistant tobacco thrips populations in the Mid-South and Southeast to neonicotinoid seed treatments commonly used in cotton is complicating thrips management and leading to significant increases in insecticide use on cotton to avoid seedling damage.  Because tobacco thrips has a very broad host range and exploits a sequence of multiple host plants throughout the year, resistance was generally not anticipated.  This presentation will examine key biological and operational factors contributing to the development of resistance and the sustainability of the current approach to managing resistant thrips populations. Moving forward, a diverse toolbox of thrips control tactics will be necessary to minimize development of resistance to new thrips management tools. In the near-term, intervention strategies that incorporate model-driven approaches to thrips management have the potential to provide growers with the ability to utilize newer, reduced risk foliar materials. In the longer term, these approaches will need to be considered as part of a durable strategy to reduce the likelihood for resistance to neonicotinoid replacements. Understanding factors that drive the evolution of resistance in tobacco thrips and other pests will be essential to developing and deploying resistance management strategies at the appropriate spatial and temporal scale. Lessons learned from the neonicotinoid resistance issue will provide considerable insight into these factors.