Western Flower Thrip (USDA-ARS)

Natural Remedies for Pest Control

ARS researchers have developed new pest control methods for America’s farmers. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) has a long history of being used as a natural pest control in the past but is rarely used presently for postharvest pest control.  Over the past several years, ARS researchers in Salinas, CA, have successfully developed SO2 fumigation treatments to control pests on fresh and stored products. One of pests controlled with SO2 fumigation on fresh produce is western flower thrips, which is a major pest of a wide variety of crops, a major vector of plant virus diseases, and a quarantined pest on some overseas markets – affecting U.S. exports of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Learn more...

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.