Climate-Driven Integrated Management of Neohydatothrips signifer (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) to Improve Sustainability and Export Compliance in Yellow Passion Fruit from Huila (Colombia)

Sonia Jimena Rodriguez Montes¹Edgar Herney Varon Devia²Nesrine Chaali^2*Camilo Ignacio Jaramillo-Barrios²Claudia Milena Flórez Cardenas²Sofiane Ouazaa²Sonia Mercedes Polo-Murcia³

• ¹Universidad Antonio Narino, Bogotá, Colombia
• ²Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (AGROSAVIA), Mosquera, Colombia
• ³Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) is a key tropical crop in Colombia, with export potential limited by thrips "Neohydatothrips signifer" infestations. The objective of this study was to propose and implement an integrated thrips management strategy that complies with the phytosanitary requirements of the European market. This strategy combined climatic models, environmental indicators, insecticide efficacy assessments, and an economic analysis to promote sustainability and regulatory compliance in export-oriented production.. Field monitoring was conducted from 2022 to 2024 in a commercial orchard located in Suaza, Huila, southern Colombia. Thrips populations were monitored twice per week across nine experimental units using 54 randomly distributed sampling points, applying a standardized tapping method on vegetative terminals. Climate variables such as temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and solar radiation were recorded and analyzed using regression-based models to predict pest dynamics. Insecticide efficacy, individually and in mixtures, was evaluated using a modified Abbott model, while environmental impact was quantified based on the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ). Economic analysis was conducted to estimate thrips management costs in relation to the phytosanitary strategy. Thrips populations peaked during flowering (>20 individuals per terminal shoot) and declined under higher rainfall, with abundance significantly correlated with minimum temperature (r = 0.63) and relative humidity (r = –0.57; p < 0.05). The best climate-based predictive model was the binomial negative with the temperature and the rainfall as the main drivers. insecticide mixtures did not improve the efficacy of control applications, with antagonistic interactions being observed on several occasions. . El valor de EIQ causado por aplicaciones químicas para el periodo de estudio fue de 19,7 y while residue analyses confirmed compliance with EU MRLs. Thrips management represented 38% of total phytosanitary costs, peaking during flowering (42%) and fruiting (35%). These results show that combining predictive climate models, targeted insecticide mixtures, and sustainability management improves thrips management efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and export compliance.