Onion Thrip

Description: Thrips gather in large numbers on onion leaves, causing wrinkled or ribbony shoots to emerge in place of the expected smooth ones. White or gray spotting, called silver top, may eventually cover the entire leaf, giving it a sickly appearance. Thrips are a primary pest of onion, reducing photosynthesis and yield by cutting leaf cells open to suck up their sap. Emptied of chlorophyll, the dead cells leave bleached silvery streaks. If the onion plant lives through an early infestation, the bulbs may be distorted and undersized. Thrips are too small to be readily seen by the naked eye, so the silver top appearance is the best way to identify a thrips infestation.

Solution: Spray with Pyola^TM Insecticidal Spray from the time seedlings are set out. Thrips are also susceptible to Oil-Away^TM Insecticidal Spray, which works both by suffocating and by repelling thrips. Although we have not tested Neem-Away^TM Insect Spray for thrips control, it is reported to repel thrips.