Exploring Thrips Preference and Resistance in Flowers, Leaves, and Whole Plants of Ten Accessions.

species grown for pepper production suffer severely from thrips damage, urging the identification of natural resistance. Resistance levels are commonly assessed on leaves. However, plants are flower-bearing during most of the production season, and thrips also feed on pollen and flower tissues.

High Concentrations of Very Long Chain Leaf Wax Alkanes of Thrips Susceptible Pepper Accessions (Capsicum spp).

The cuticular wax layer can be important for plant resistance to insects. Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) damage was assessed on 11 pepper accessions of Capsicum annuum and C. chinense in leaf disc and whole plant assays.

Metabolomics of Thrips Resistance in Pepper (Capsicum spp.) Reveals Monomer and Dimer Acyclic Diterpene Glycosides as Potential Chemical Defenses.

The development of pesticide resistance in insects and recent bans on pesticides call for the identification of natural sources of resistance in crops. Here, we used natural variation in pepper (Capsicum spp.) resistance combined with an untargeted metabolomics approach to detect secondary metabolites related to thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) resistance.

Thrips Resistance Screening Is Coming of Age: Leaf Position and Ontogeny Are Important Determinants of Leaf-Based Resistance in Pepper.

is a genus containing important crop species, many of which severely suffer from thrips infestation. Thrips feeding damages leaves and fruits, and often results in virus infections. Only a few insecticides are still effective against thrips, underlining the importance of finding natural resistance in crops.

Quantification of Thrips Damage Using Ilastik and ImageJ Fiji.

Quantification of insect damage is an essential measurement for identifying resistance in plants. In screening for host plant resistance against thrips, the total damaged leaf area is used as a criterion to determine resistance levels. Here we present an objective novel method for analyzing thrips damage on leaf disc using the freely available software programs Ilastik and ImageJ.