Effect of Sowing dates in Cucumber on Incidence of <i>thrips tabaci</i> (Lindeman)

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in Fayoum Governorate, Egypt to evaluate the impact of sowing dates on onion thrips Thrips tabaci (Lindeman) that attack cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). The study spanned two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and involved three planting dates: March, August, and October. Weekly thrips counts were recorded and compared across the different planting dates. According to the results, T. tabaci nymphs recorded maximum incidence in March sowing date and amounted to 118.5± 19.79 and 79.6± 18.99 individuals/ sample. While cucumber crop in October sowing date hosted the lowest number of T. tabaci nymphs amounted to 34.1± 7.38 and 29.5± 7.57 individuals/sample. Temperature and population of T. tabaci nymphs correlated significantly in August and October cucumber plantations.