especially later in the season……..and it’s lacerating & rasping mode of attack sets the ideal landing place for air-borne fungal spores of downy mildew………..coupled with increased humidity in the atmosphere……
a) Crop Rotation with those crops which are not liked by onion thrips at least for 3 years………..or used plastic mulches
One crop that is performing very well however is our onions. Two years ago we started planting our onions on a silver reflective plastic mulch. We had trouble in the past keeping our onions adequately weeded, and the silver mulch was recommended for its cooling and insect-repelling qualities in addition to weed suppression. This is a year in which all of these qualities were needed and appreciated. Thrips are a major problem for many growers this year and we are seeing them in very low numbers. The cooling effect on the soil means that the onions were not heat-stressed. Finally, because we weren’t trying to keep 2400 bed feet of onions weeded, we could focus on more pressing matters–like irrigation. The onions are so healthy that we are only just starting to harvest them, as many will gain quite a bit of size in the next few weeks. Our torpedo onions are the first to be harvested, a delicious salad and grilling onion from Italy–you’ll see them at our market stand and CSA pick-up for the next few weeks…. Expect cipollini onions and heirloom Ailsa Craig onions soon as well said the growers in US.
