Evaluation of onion cultivars for resistance to onion thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Iris yellow spot virus.

Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), a worldwide pest of onion, Allium cepa L., can reduce onion yield by > 50% and be even more problematic when it transmits Iris yellow spot virus (family Bunyaviridae, genus Tospovirus, IYSV). Because T. tabaci is difficult to control with insecticides and other strategies, field studies on onion, Allium cepa L., resistance to T. tabaci and IYSV were conducted in 2007 and 2008 in two locations in New York state. Forty-nine cultivars were evaluated for resistance by counting the number of larvae weekly and recording leaf damage. In another experiment, the impact of T. tabaci and IYSV on plant growth and yield was examined by spraying half of the plants with an insecticide. Eleven of the 49 cultivars had very little leaf damage and were considered resistant to T. tabaci. Visual assessment indicated that all resistant cultivars had yellow-green- colored foliage, whereas the other 38 had blue-green- colored foliage. The visual assessment of color agreed with data on color taken with a HunterLab Ultra Scan XE colorimeter. The onions 'Colorado 6' and 'NMSU 03-52-1' had the lowest numbers of T. tabaci, suggesting strong antibiosis and/or antixenosis. The other nine cultivars had variable numbers of T. tabaci, indicating a possible combination of categories of resistance. In the nonprotected treatments there were significant reductions in plant height and plant weight in most of the resistant cultivars, but there were reductions in bulb weight only in a few of them. The average of plants infected with IYSV was 10% in 2007 and 60% in 2008. Our findings indicate potential for developing onion resistance to T. tabaci as part of an overall integrated pest management strategy but suggest difficulties in identifying resistance to IYSV.