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Scouting Tips for Onion Thrips in Onions

Christy Hoepting, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

Last Modified: July 1, 2023

To find the first thrips of the season, look deep into the leaf axils. Inspect 20 to 30 plants and count the total number of onion thrips (OT) per plant and divide by the average number of leaves per plant to get the number of OT per leaf. Thrips feeding causes silvery streaking along the leaves. If you can already see thrips feeding damage that is also a good indication that it is time to spray. If there is a lot of feeding damage, than you likely missed a timely first spray.

Close-up of the leaf axil of a 5-leaf onion plant that is spread open. Five tiny brown Adult onion thrips are the first thrips of the season. They are tiny brown, sliver-like insects up to 2 mm in length. Photo by C. Hoepting, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program


Close-up of onion leaf axil zooming in on about 30 tiny 0.5 to 1.2 mm in length light yellow slender thrips in a cluster.Onion thrips nymphs are yellow and 0.5 to 1.2 mm in length. Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University.
Side view of an onion plant. Pale green dashes from thrips feeding creates a streaked look to the leaves.Subtle streaking along leaves is an early indication of early onion thrips feedling. This plant has reached the spray threshold. Photo by C. Hoepting, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program




Scouting Tips for Onion Thrips in Onions (pdf; 239KB)

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Upcoming Events

2026 NYS Processing Vegetable Educational Meeting

Event Offers DEC Credits

March 16, 2026
Batavia, NY

Processing vegetable industry members who grow, manage, or support crop production for Farm Fresh First/Nortera Foods, Seneca Foods and/or Love Beets, are encouraged to sign-up for the 2026 NYS Processing Vegetable Industry Meeting! You will:

  • Network at this in-person meeting.
  • Learn the results of industry-funded research.
  • Have a voice in Cornell research and Extension.

DEC recertification credits available: 2.0 in categories 1a, 10, and 23.

2.0 Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) credits available.

View 2026 NYS Processing Vegetable Educational Meeting Details

Virtual Asparagus School

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March 17, 2026

Join us to dive deep on growing asparagus! Bringing together experts from the Cornell Vegetable Program, Michigan State University, OMAFA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness), and industry, featuring a panel of growers. 

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Postharvest Water Management, Sanitation, and Traceability Workshop

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March 18, 2026
Albion, NY

Cornell University personnel from the National GAPs Program and the Produce Safety Alliance are presenting a workshop on postharvest water management, sanitation, and traceability. This workshop will include a mix of short talks and hands-on activities to provide attendees with applied experience with sanitation, postharvest water, and traceability topics. 

2.75 NYSDEC CEU's in categories 10, 1a, and 23 available.

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Announcements

2025 Year in Review

Our 2025 Year in Review and 2026 Preview report highlights some of the many research and educational programs led by our team in 2025. Plus, we provide a sneak peek at some of our plans for 2026!
  • Integrating Laser Weeders into Muck Onion Production
  • Cornell Vegetable Program Advances Cover Crop Research
  • New, Interactive Pesticide Safety Programming Protects Farmer Health
  • Specialty Potato Variety Trial Tests Varieties During a Hot Growing Season
  • Mushroom Enthusiasm Grows
  • Equipping Sweet Corn Growers for an Emerging Disease: Tar Spot
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  • In 2026...


Cornell Crop and Pest Management Guidelines Paused

From Cornell IPM:

Highlighting its commitment to quality and long-term sustainability, Cornell Integrated Pest Management's Pesticide Safety Education Program has announced a pause in production of the 2026 Cornell Crop and Pest Management Guidelines.

Cornell IPM Director Alejandro Calixto said this temporary measure is the result of a comprehensive reimagining process facilitated by Illume Projects of Ithaca, which included end-user interviews, internal surveys and sales data analytics.

"It became clear to us that we cannot continue producing the guidelines and fully restructure them at the same time," Calixto said. "By pausing production, we can dedicate all available resources and time to rebuilding the production process, ensuring that when we re-launch in 2027, the guidelines will reflect a modernized approach built around the grower and other user experience."

A series of annually updated reference manuals produced by Cornell IPM and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the Cornell Crop and Pest Management Guidelines are widely used by farmers, agronomists, crop consultants and extension educators in New York and throughout the Northeast. They include information about current IPM recommendations, pesticide options, cultural practices, nutrient management, disease, insect and weed identification and resistance-management strategies.

Calixto and Pesticide Safety Education Program Lead Mike Helms will spearhead efforts to restructure the guideline process over the next 12 months, with a goal of launching a more streamlined, user-friendly version in 2027.

Limited copies of the 2025 guidelines remain available for purchase while supplies last through The Cornell Store. The 2026-2027 Greenhouse Guidelines will be available.

For more information contact Helms at mjh14@cornell.edu.


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