Florida’s strawberry industry continues to face increasing pressure from chilli thrips, one of the most difficult pests to manage during the production season. At the 44th Annual Florida Strawberry Growers Association AgriTech meeting on May 5, 2026, held at the Grimes Family Agricultural Center in Plant City, Florida, the Florida Ag Research team presented new field research focused on season-long insecticide resistance management strategies for chilli thrips in strawberry production.

The presentation, titled “Optimal Insecticide Resistance Management Rotations for Chilli Thrips: Characterizing Impacts on Populations and Fruit Quality,” was authored by Dr. Frank V. Sances, Dr. Balaji Aglave, and Erin Downey of Florida Ag Research.

The research addressed one of the industry’s most important questions: how to maintain effective chilli thrips control throughout the season while protecting fruit quality and preserving long-term insecticide performance.

Early Intervention and Resistance Management
The presentation emphasized that chilli thrips populations often establish early in the season, well before canopy closure, making early intervention critical for effective suppression.

Researchers noted that programs initiated during the first month of crop establishment improved coverage and delayed population buildup later in the season.

​Researchers noted that sprays applied during the first month of establishment can improve canopy penetration, delay population buildup, and reduce downstream damage to foliage, blossoms, and fruit. 

To evaluate season-long management strategies under commercial-style conditions, Florida Ag Research conducted field trials at the Dover FSGA Research Site using the strawberry variety ‘Ember.’

​Weekly applications were evaluated from December through late April, with researchers monitoring both thrips populations and fruit quality outcomes throughout the season. 

The study compared multiple resistance management approaches, including:

• Rotational programs utilizing multiple modes of action (MOA)
• Programs combining soil and foliar applications
• Foliar-only rotational programs
• Organic treatment programs
• Untreated control plots

Researchers measured thrips populations in both foliage and flowers, while also tracking feeding damage, infestation incidence, and overall marketable yield.

Key Findings from the Trial
The presentation demonstrated clear differences between resistance management programs.

Among the most significant findings:

• Multiple MOA rotational programs provided the strongest foliar suppression, maintaining populations below four thrips per leaf throughout much of the season under sustained pressure conditions.

• Scenario I programs combining Admire Pro with foliar rotations consistently reduced feeding damage and maintained lower flower infestation pressure. 

• Organic programs experienced substantial late-season control failures under high-pressure conditions, exceeding 80% fruit infestation during peak pressure periods and performing statistically similar to untreated controls in feeding incidence evaluations.
• The highest estimated marketable yields were produced by the Multiple MOA program (12,224 lbs/acre) and Scenario I (11,957 lbs/acre), compared to 8,574 lbs/acre in the organic rotation program.

Researchers also highlighted an important scouting takeaway: sampling only trifoliates may underestimate actual field populations, and whole-plant sampling may provide a more accurate picture of chilli thrips pressure during the season.

Supporting Better Decision-Making for Strawberry Production
The presentation reflects Florida Ag Research’s continued focus on generating practical, field-driven data that helps growers and product developers make better management decisions under real-world production conditions. ​
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As resistance management becomes increasingly important across specialty crop production, this type of season-long efficacy work provides valuable insight into how rotational programs impact not only pest populations, but also fruit quality and marketable yield outcomes.

The complete presentation includes detailed seasonal rotation programs, product-by-product treatment sequences, MOA comparisons, population trend charts, environmental observations, feeding damage analyses, and full marketable yield data from the trial. For growers, consultants, and product developers seeking deeper technical insights into chilli thrips resistance management strategies, the full presentation provides substantially more detailed trial data and program structure.​

Download the full presentation here:

​At the Florida Strawberry Growers Association’s Annual Tailgate in Dover, FL on January 14th, Florida Ag Research shared current findings from field work evaluating insecticide spray programs for chilli thrips management in Florida strawberry, with a focus on thrips populations, fruit quality, and practical sampling considerations. 

Why early-season thrips management is a focal point
Chilli thrips populations can build quickly in the first third of the season. Early sprays do not always prevent damage to foliage, blossoms, and fruit, which is why the current strategy emphasizes early intervention—applications during the first month of establishment (before canopy closure) to improve coverage and delay population buildup.

Field trials are currently underway at the Dover FSGA Research Site to refine early-season application methods under real-world conditions, including examining products and modes of action targeting oviposition, eggs, and immatures.

Trial overview and what was evaluated
In this study, ‘Ember’ strawberry was planted 10/20/2025, and five treatments were compared: four rotation programs plus an untreated check (UTC).

Applications and Assessments

• Application timings: 12/22, 12/31, 1/7

Assessment methods included:

1. Thrips counts on leaves (emerging trifoliate)
2. Thrips counts on blossoms (five blooms per plant; alcohol bath; microscope counts)
3. Fruit evaluations (% thrips damage on harvested fruit)

The rotation programs represented different scenarios (including conventional rotations, a multiple-MOA approach, and an organic program), framed around IRAC mode-of-action considerations.

Key findings (early-season conditions)
1. Population control vs. crop protection can diverge
Across assessments focused on adults + larvae per flower, the data indicated that IGR-based approaches provided stronger thrips population reduction relative to systemic and contact products in this dataset.

2. Fruit protection and marketable outcomes favored systemic programs in this early window
When looking at harvested fruit outcomes after three harvests, the presentation notes that a program with systemic products provided the best fruit protection under the early-season conditions observed.
Marketable yield results were also summarized with an emphasis on early-season ROI dynamics, noting that systemic products can provide strong ROI compared to other rotations, though the untreated check performed similarly under these specific early-season conditions.

3. Sampling location matters (flowers vs. foliage)
The work also addressed the practical question: Where should you sample, flowers or foliage? The dataset presented a comparison of adults + larvae per leaf and summarized percent control by program.

Separately, the presentation’s conclusions noted more thrips found in blossoms vs. foliage in these plots.

Conclusions and Next Steps
​The presentation closed with several clear takeaways:

• Relatively low thrips populations in our plots despite our best efforts
• More thrips found in blossoms vs. foliage
• IGR’s provide better population control, but systemic products protect marketable yield better in early season conditions
• Continue to characterize population dynamics of thrips in real-world conditions and understand how IGR’s fit into management programs

These investigations will detail effects of application rate, phenological timing, soil or foliar treatment, and almost any other specific product usage scenario for the manufacturer.

Using your protocol or ours, these studies begin at planting in October and continue through the fruiting season ending in March 2026. Plant growth rates, root development, flowering, and fruiting parameters are recorded on populations of treated plants compared to untreated ones. Complete materials and methods, statistical and graphical presentation of data, and interpretation of results are provided in the final report.

Florida Ag Research has the capability to apply biostimulant products as a soil amendment, chemigation application, or foliar spray. To capture physiological responses, our trials incorporate advanced measurement tools including the LI-COR® LI-600 Chlorophyll Content Index sensor, NDVI/NDRE sensors, WinRHIZO™ root scanner, and experienced field technicians familiar with strawberry quality standards and measurement. These technologies and staff allow us to quantify crop growth patterns, stress response, and canopy health with repeatable precision.

We welcome inquiries from product developers and invite you to connect with our team for more information on our biostimulant program. ​

Summary: Management of soil borne pests on commercial Florida strawberry farms has long been a challenge to growers. In recent years, this has been particularly difficult with regulatory pressures on the use of remaining chemical soil fumigants and the costs associated with their use. Also, while still in its infancy, organic strawberry production in Florida has been established by several shippers to try to meet the demand for this strawberry market segment. To provide growers with alternative non-fumigant soil pest management techniques, this project builds on previous work from these and other researchers with an on-site demonstration of Soil Solarization and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation for the 2023 grower outreach by our collaborative groups.

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Frank Sances will be attending the 2022 MBAO: Fumigation and Alternatives for Production, Storage and Trade Conference in Orlando. Come find out about our "Efficacy of Solarization and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation" study. Email us to have a meet-up or a pre- or post-conference tour of our Florida Station, less than 2 hours from Orlando. #anaerobicdisinfestation #strawberry #MBAO #Methylbromide #FloridaAg #FloridaAgResearch [email protected]

Florida Ag Research presented a “Proof of Concept” field demonstration intended to evaluate the suitability of using solar radiation to enhance soil borne pest control with Conventional Fumigants and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation in commercial Florida strawberry production. Potential benefits of the system include:
 
a) Solarization and ASD are approved organic soil pest control options
b) Solarization with conventional soil borne pest control inputs may allow reduction in chemical usage
c) ASD is a potential waste recycling system

​The project, which began in June of 2021, was published by Florida Ag Research/Ag Metrics Group scientists and growers: Frank Sances, Balaji Aglave, Mark Keeley, Kaleb Williams, and Charlie Boone.
 
The Solarization Project was presented by Ag Metrics Group’s Mark Keeley (formerly a Station Manager of Florida Ag Research). “It was great to come back out and present this exciting work to growers and researchers since the ‘Field Day’ was cancelled last January,” said Keeley, “And a great opportunity to introduce Mariano [Galla], the new Florida Ag Research Station Manager, to the Florida strawberry grower community.”