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Multi-Year Development and Field Validation of Blended p-Anisaldehyde–Verbenone Lure Systems and Dispenser Technologies for Monitoring Western Flower Thrips
,
Farooq Shah,
Owen Jones,
Robert Thomas,
Henry Frend,
John Stobart,
Benjamin Clunie,
Zack Saud,
Joel Loveridge ,
Tariq Butt
Agronomy, Volume: 16, Issue: 11, Start page: 1050
Swansea University Authors:
Martyn Wood, Alex Dearden, James Bull , Robert Thomas, Henry Frend, Benjamin Clunie, Joel Loveridge , Tariq Butt
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© 2026 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/agronomy16111050
Abstract
Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) are major pests of horticultural crops worldwide, creating a need for sensitive monitoring tools to support integrated pest management. Semiochemical lures are widely used to enhance sticky trap capture, but their effectiveness depends on both attra...
| Published in: | Agronomy |
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| ISSN: | 2073-4395 |
| Published: |
MDPI
2026
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72032 |
| Abstract: |
Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) are major pests of horticultural crops worldwide, creating a need for sensitive monitoring tools to support integrated pest management. Semiochemical lures are widely used to enhance sticky trap capture, but their effectiveness depends on both attractant composition and dispenser design. In this study, the plant-derived volatiles p-anisaldehyde (PANI) and S(−)-verbenone were evaluated as individual and blended attractants, together with the development of practical dispenser systems, across field trials conducted between 2018 and 2021 in commercial strawberry production systems. Initial short-term trials in 2018 showed that both compounds increased trap capture relative to controls, with the PANI–verbenone blend providing the greatest enhancement across repeated 48 h assessments. Follow-on trials in 2019 supported these findings and introduced ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) tubing as a controlled-release dispenser, improving lure practicality and durability without loss of efficacy. Expanded multi-site trials in 2021, conducted across four farms over four weeks, showed that although early capture dynamics were similar among treatments, differences emerged over time. By day 28, blended attractants, particularly when delivered via polymer-based dispensers, consistently exceeded controls and performed comparably to, or sometimes better than, the commercial standard Lurem-TR. These findings show that combining plant-derived volatile blends with optimised controlled-release dispensers can improve monitoring sensitivity for F. occidentalis under commercial growing conditions. |
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| Keywords: |
western flower thrips; lures; verbenone; p-anisaldehyde; attractant blends; dispensers |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
The 2018 and 2019 field trials and associated works were funded by the Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships 2 (KESS 2) initiative and were partly funded by the Welsh Government’s European Social Fund (ESF) convergence program for West Wales and the Valleys with industry support from Agrisense Ltd. and Lisk & Jones Ltd. alongside Natural Products Biohub Centre, funded via UK Research and Innovation funding from the ‘Building a Green Future’ strategic theme (project number: UKRI239). The 2021 field trials and associated works were funded by Innovate UK funding coupled with industry support from Razbio Ltd. (project number: 86740), with additional technical support provided by Lisk & Jones Ltd. |
| Issue: |
11 |
| Start Page: |
1050 |