SPECIES COMPOSITION OF THRIPS (INSECTA: THYSANOPTERA) ON SELECTION CROPS OF SPRING WHEAT IN THE RUSSIAN STATE AGRARIAN UNIVESITY - MOSCOW TIMIRYAZEV AGRICULTURALACADEMY

Abstract

Cereal thrips are ubiquitous, widespread and strong pests of grain crops. Imago and larvae of thrips can damage leaves, ears, flowers and grains by injecting and sucking plant juices. Thrips reduce not only the weight but also the sowing qualities of grain, posing a threat to breeding and seed crops. Cereal thrips are a systematically and biologically diverse group of species that are diffi-cult to diagnose and study. Morphological diagnosis of thrips is carried out according to the adult phase; diagnosis of larvae of closely related species requires the use of molecular genetic methods. The wheat thrips are usually the main focus; other species are less known. In the experimental crops in Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, cereal thrips are one of the main pests. In 2020, on spring wheat, their share in the number of insect collections by mowing with a net reached 14 in 2022, it reached 29%. However, the species composition of thrips has not been previously studied here. In the genetic collection of spring wheat (45 varieties) and the collection of endemic wheat (18 varieties) of the breeding experimental station of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, censuses and diagnostics of the species composition of thrips were carried out. A total of 993 adults of thrips were analyzed and micro preparations were made. Seven species of herbivorous and one species of predatory thrips were identified. The species composition is dominated by three species of cereal thrips: Haplothrips aculeatus, Haplothrips tritici, and Frankliniella tenuicornis. The rarest among them is the rye thrips Limothrips denticornis. Some differences between thrips species are noted in terms of appearance on crops and the period of the main damage. For the most widespread, closely related and outwardly similar species, the main diagnostic features are indicated.