Confirm and Esteem are registered for use on apples and pears but not on cherries. Success is registered on apples and stone fruits including sweet cherries. There is no registration yet for Success on pears. Well, this time it was our turn at the Experiment Station to have pear thrips show up in unexpectedly high numbers. Most of the pear thrips infestation was on the East edge of the station blocks close to the wooded area that drops down to the Hood River.
Pear thrips have many native hosts including maple and other deciduous trees.
Other tree fruits including cherries and apples are also attacked. In the lower valley, pear thrips began to disperse from outside hosts into orchards towards the end of March and peaked the first week of April. Blocks bordering wooded habitat should be checked for presence of pear thrips. Adult thrips can be easily monitored with a beating tray. Nymphs feed on leaves and also on the fruit surface where they can be observed with a good hand lens.