Major insect pest frankliniella occidentalis invading several Chinese provinces

A research team from the Institute of Plant Protection at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences recently published a thesis that presented a systematic study of the global invasion of a major agricultural insect pest, frankliniella occidentalis. 
 

The thesis pointed out that the insect has become a major agricultural pest. Frankliniella occidentalis originated from North America but has spread to some 50 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
 

Following the first report on the presence of frankliniella occidentalis in a greenhouse in a suburb of Beijing, the insect has been spotted in several Chinese provinces, including Yunnan, Hebei, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jilin, Jiangsu, Guizhou and Xinjiang. 
 

Frankliniella occidentalis damages plant stems, leaves, flowers and fruits, leading to the withering of plants. It is also a carrier of deadly viruses, such as tomato spotted wilt virus. Frankliniella occidentalis has a broad range of hosts and diverse eating habits, and its host plants include over 500 commercial crops and food grains, such as potato, eggplant, chili, cucumber, flower, banana and mango. 
 

According to the thesis, the rapid development of international trade and increasing resistance to chemical pesticides caused the world-wide invasion of frankliniella occidentalis. The invasion also spread tomato spotted wilt virus to various crops, making frankliniella occidentalis a major agricultural insect pest.
 

The thesis further pointed out that due to the insect’s invasion, it is now necessary and urgent to reduce the use of chemical pesticides that increase resistance, as well as to implement a comprehensive international prevention and control strategy based on green prevention and control techniques.