Thrips cause serious mechanical damages to crops by their
Answer Details
Thrips cause serious mechanical damages to crops by their feeding activities on flowers, leaves, and fruits. Thrips are small insects that feed on the surface of plants by piercing and sucking the sap out of the cells. This can cause deformities, stunted growth, discoloration, and even death of the plants. Thrips also scrape the surface of the plants with their mouthparts, which can create scarring, silvering, or bronzing of the leaves. These damages can reduce the quality and quantity of the crop yield, and can also make the plants more susceptible to secondary infections by fungi and bacteria.