Thrips are tiny bugs that can wreck onion fields. We wanted to find a way to stop them without using too many chemicals. So, we tried different tricks, like planting flowers, using straw, and bringing in bug helpers. Turns out, planting flowers near onions cut thrips in half and boosted harvests by 25%. But other methods, like nets and natural chemicals, didn’t do much against thrips.

Introduction:  Onion Thrips are small insects that mess up onion leaves, making them smaller and lower quality. Farmers often spray chemicals to kill thrips, but that can be bad for the environment and people’s health. That’s why we looked for other ways to stop them.

Methods: For two years, we tested different ideas in onion fields in Quebec. We planted flowers, put straw around plants, and brought in bug helpers to fight it.

Results: Planting flowers near onions cut thrips in half and boosted harvests by 25%. But other methods, like nets and natural chemicals, didn’t do much against it.

Discussion:

Our findings show that some alternative methods, like planting flowers, can be good at stopping thrips without using too many chemicals. This can help protect the environment and people’s health.

Conclusion:

Planting flowers near onion fields can be a great way to stop It and get bigger harvests. But we need to keep looking for other ways to protect our crops while keeping the environment safe.