Despite being a relatively hardy bulb crop with a longer shelf life than many fresh vegetables, onions are susceptible to substantial postharvest losses due to microbial spoilage. This study used high-throughput amplicon sequencing to characterize the bacterial and fungal microbiomes associated with healthy (HB), mildly rotten (MRB), and severely rotten (SRB) onion bulbs. Microbial communities were analysed across three distinct bulb tissues comprising neck tissue (NT), outer scale (OS), and central tissue (CT), to generate stage-specific and tissue-specific microbiome profiles. The microbial community analysis based on over 2 million Illumina NGS reads revealed the presence of 85 bacterial OTUs and 53 fungal OTUs across nine bulb samples. Bulb deterioration was marked by pronounced microbial succession, with bacterial diversity increasing from healthy bulbs (8 genera) to mildly rotten bulbs (36 genera), followed by a sharp decline in severely rotten bulbs (11 genera). Several bacterial genera, including Lactobacillus, Novosphingobium, Sphingobium, Pluralibacter, Acetobacter, Gluconobacter and Pantoea, emerged exclusively in rotten bulbs and were absent in healthy tissues, indicating their association with the onion bulb rot. The microbiome of SRB was marked by an overwhelming dominance of Lactobacillus (33.2% in SRB-CT, 16.9% in SRB-NT, 10.8% in SRB-OS), Acetobacter (16.1% in SRB-CT, 15.6% in SRB-NT, 7.0% in SRB-OS), Carnimonas (57.0% in SRB-NT), and Gluconobacter (14.5% in SRB-OS). Fungal communities exhibited a similar successional pattern: healthy bulbs showed negligible fungal presence except in the neck tissue (HB-NT), whereas mildly rotten bulbs showed a sharp increase in fungal diversity dominated by Meyerozyma (21.7%), Blastobotrys (13.3%), and Penicillium (7.0%). In severely rotten bulbs, fungal diversity declined, with Pichia (48.3%) and Kazachstania (8.6%) becoming dominant. Differential abundance analysis using edgeR identified six bacterial genera (Lactobacillus, Novosphingobium, Acetobacter, Pluralibacter, Carnimonas, and Dysgonomonas) and two fungal genera (Pichia and Kazachstania) that exhibited significant stage-dependent shifts during bulb rot progression. Alpha- and beta-diversity analyses revealed strong tissue-specific structuring of fungal communities, identifying the neck region as the primary fungal succession zone. Overall, this study elucidates the ecological restructuring of bacterial and fungal communities during onion bulb deterioration, and would pave the way for devising microbiome-informed interventions to reduce postharvest losses in onions.

Onion (Allium cepa Linnaeus) is an important vegetable crop valued for its nutritional properties and economics worldwide. Onion cultivation faces serious threats from pests and diseases, particularly onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), which cause substantial yield losses. Recently, Black thrips (Thrips parvispinus), an invasive key pest of chili, have been reported to cause severe damage in onion crop and is likely to devastate the onion cultivation in near future. Therefore, this study was conducted to address the knowledge gap concerning the genetic basis and evolutionary history of T. tabaci and T. parvispinus through sequencing of their mitochondrial genomes. T. tabaci and T. parvispinus were collected from different locations in Maharashtra, India, and reared in the laboratory. The mitochondrial genomes of T. tabaci and T. parvispinus were sequenced to a length of 15,277 and 15,285 bp, respectively. Both genomes exhibited similar gene organization with regard to thirteen protein-coding genes and two rRNA genes. T. tabaci contained 19 tRNA genes whereas T. parvispinus contained 18 tRNA genes. The evolutionary positions of T. tabaci and T. parvispinus within the Thysanoptera order were elucidated through phylogenetic analysis of the mitogenomes of 15 thrips species. These findings provide crucial insights into the genetic makeup and evolutionary dynamics of both the thrips species, thereby aiding the development of novel and sustainable pest management strategies to mitigate their impacts on crops in the changing climate scenario.

Pollination is crucial for onion (Allium cepaL.) seed production, and honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the major pollinators. The biochemical content of pollen and nectar has a substantial impact on pollinator foraging behavior and seed yield. However, there has been little investigation into biochemical traits of short-day Indian onion cultivars that influence bee visitation and pollination effectiveness. This study looks at the biochemical characteristics of pollen and nectar in short-day Indian onion varities to unveil their role in bee pollination. The study investigates nectar sugar composition, amino acid profiles, total phenols, and antioxidant properties, and their relation with bee pollination in onion. Field experiments were carried out to assess the floral visitors, while biochemical composition of nectar and pollen were also analyzed using LC-MS/MS, and spectrophotometry. The results revealed that, among the onion cultivars, ‘Bhima Super’ had best bee attracting biochemical traits, with high protein (391.8 mg/g), flavonoids (855.3 mg/g), and antioxidant activity (3.6 µg/g) in its pollen. Besides, the nectar of B. super was also rich in protein (83.6 mg/g), flavonoids (9.7 mg/g), and sugars (40.53 mg/g). In contrast, the onion cultivar ‘Bhima Shweta’ revealed the less amount of this biochemical content. Foraging trend of bees revealed that ‘Bhima Super’ had the highest foraging rate (14.151 visits/min) and foraging speed (6.703 flowers/min), correlating with its biochemical traits. Cultivar,‘Bhima Shakti’ also showed a positive correlation between nectar sugar (43.8%), antioxidants (r = 0.682), and bee activity, with its pollen contains rich in iron (0.520 µg/g), zinc (0.75 µg/g), and manganese (0.37 µg/g). These findings confirm strong correlations between pollen and nectar biochemistry and bee foraging. The study insights into pollen and nectar of short day India onion cultivars, providing new avenue for improving managed pollination strategies in onion seed production.

IntroductionFloral honey has gained attention for its host-specific phytochemicals, which are associated with various health benefits, such as wound healing, reducing inflammation, and offering antioxidant protection. Stingless bee honey, in particular is renowned for its medicinal benefits.MethodsThis study compares the pH, electrical conductivity (EC), moisture content, total protein, antioxidant activity, sugar content, and mineral composition of four floral honey samples from the stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis and an Italian bee, Apis mellifera.ResultsThe pH of T. iridipennis honey ranged from 3.36 to 3.46, lower than A. mellifera honey (4.48). The EC of T. iridipennis honey (1.01–1.13 mS/cm) was higher than A. mellifera honey (0.58 mS/cm), indicating a greater mineral content. Additionally, T. iridipennis honey showed higher moisture content (16.53–19.79%), protein (825–1184.33 μg/g), antioxidant activity (323.05–353.47 mg/100 g), and mineral concentrations.DiscussionThis study compares the physicochemical and mineral components of T. iridipennis and A. mellifera honey. Significant correlations were found between pH and key components, with T. iridipennis honey showing superior nutritional and medicinal value due to its higher biochemical and mineral composition.

Stingless bee honey, also known as pot honey, is a unique product that differs from other honey (Apis) in terms of flavor, chemical composition, biological characteristics, and sourness. Raw and by-products made from this honey have substantial use for its diverse health benefits and human dietary requirements. The physiochemical properties of honey from stingless bee mainly rely on nectar sources, geographic locations, climate, bee species, and handling and storage conditions. The honey contains reducing sugars, water, minerals, and ash content, and its characteristic features include color, acidity, pH, electrical conductivity, and viscosity. Further, it contains several biological and therapeutic constituents such as flavonoids, antioxidants, antibacterial, wound-healing, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties, and the Maillard reaction product hydroxymethylfurfural. This review summarizes the literature on the physical and biological properties and therapeutic constituents' use of stingless bee honey. It also highlights the quality standards available worldwide and required modifications in establishing universal standards for promoting this honey.

The use of beneficial microbes is hitherto known and constantly increasing in agriculture due to their positive impact on crop growth and yield, and their minimal negative impact on the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of eight Trichoderma strains of diverse origin on crop growth and yield of onion under field conditions. The identity of the strains used in the current study was confirmed by ITS and Tef1 gene sequencing. Field experiments were conducted in the Rabi season for 2 years (2020–21, and 2022–23) to evaluate the effect of the application of eight different Trichoderma strains that were applied individually and separately as eight different treatments (T1–T8) in experimental plots. In the plant growth promotion assay conducted in vitro, all strains showed the ability to produce IAA (indole-3-acetic acid), with levels ranging from 23.52 μg/mL (T6) to 45.54 μg/mL (T3). Our results revealed that Trichoderma treated experimental plots displayed better growth indices (plant height, pseudostem diameter), RWC (Relative water content), leaf chlorophyll content, and yield-attributing features like biomass (bulb and root dry mass), bulb diameter, and harvested bulb yield compared to the untreated control plants. In terms of yield, the T2 strain exhibited the highest bulb yield consistently for both the years (2020–21 and 2022–23) followed by T3 being statistically at par with T5. Among all the evaluated Trichoderma strains, the strain T2 (OGRDT2) and T3 (GRDT1), taxonomically identified as Trichoderma longibrachiatum, registered bulb yield of 32.24 t/ha and 30.76 t/ha, respectively while T5 (GRDT3), identified as Trichoderma asperellum, registered 30.55 t/ha average yield for 2 years compared to 24.08 t/ha average yield recorded for untreated control plants with an increase of 34, 28 and 27%, respectively. Based on our findings, it is concluded that the T. longibrachiatum strains OGRDT2 (T2) and GRDT1 (T3), T. asperellum strain GRDT3 (T5) are the best inducers of the onion crop growth and yield in the Rabi season and would be explored further for its commercial application in onion farming.

Tetragonula iridipennis Smith, commonly known as the stingless bee or 'dammer bee', is a key native species that pollinates a wide variety of horticultural crops, including onions, in India. Climate change significantly affects species distribution and habitat suitability. This study utilized Maximum Entropy Modeling (MaxEnt) to predict the current and future distribution of T. iridipennis in India. By modeling the species' potential distribution using both historical climate data (1970-2000) and future projections for 2050 and 2070 under two socio-economic scenarios, SSP126 (low-emission) and SSP585 (high-emission), the study provided accurate predictions. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for model training and testing was 0.848 and 0.830, respectively, indicating strong model accuracy. Additionally, the Continuous Boyce Index (CBI) values for training and testing were 0.966 and 0.907, while the True Skill Statistic (TSS) values were 0.510 and 0.484. These metrics confirm that the model effectively distinguishes between suitable and unsuitable habitats for the species. The two most influential variables determining 84.9% of T. iridipennis's potential distribution were temperature seasonality (bio4; 66.2%) and mean temperature of the coldest quarter (bio11; 18.7%). The ideal zone for these variables were 155-170 and 13-28, respectively. The model indicated that the potential distribution of T. iridipennis is concentrated primarily in central and southern peninsular India, with the species' habitat predicted to expand under both SSP126 and SSP585 scenarios. This study provides a detailed overview of the current and potential future habitable areas for T. iridipennis in India, offering insights that could help guide conservation efforts for this important native pollinator.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the relative field-efficacy, natural enemies safety and phytotoxicity of premixed soil insecticide formulation Virtako 1.5 Gr (Chlorantraniliprole 0.5% + Thiamethoxam 1%) against onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) and black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) infesting onion. Methodology: Two field experiments were conducted in successive years (2017-18 & 2018-19) to evaluate the bio-efficacy of Virtako 1.5® Gr against thrips, cutworms and natural enemies in onion. The desired dosage of Virtako 1.5® Gr was applied as soil broadcasting after 10 days of transplanting. Thrips population, cutworm damage, natural enemies and phytotoxicity observation were made using standard procedures. Results: The results revealed that Virtako® 1.5 Gr applied @ 105 and 90 g a.i ha-1 recorded the lowest mean thrips population, 18.03 and 19.50 thrips per plant, respectively. Similarly, Virtako 1.5 Gr at 105 a.i. ha-1 reduced cutworm damage by 88.5%, followed by Virtako 1.5 Gr at 90 g a.i. ha-1 (85.5%). Although no natural enemies’ activity (Coccinellids, Orius spp, and Spiders) was found in the early phase of onion growth, they were recorded in all treatments at later crop growth stages. All doses of Virtako 1.5 Gr had no noticeable phytotoxicity effects on onion plants. Interpretation: Application of Virtako 1.5 Gr effectively minimized thrips population and cutworm damage in onions. Further, it did not show any significant harmful impact on the activity to above-ground natural enemies. Therefore, Virtako 1.5 Gr at a lower effective dose 90 g a.i ha-1 can be recommended for onion against thrips and black cutworm. Key words: Cutworm, Onion thrips, Premixed insecticide, Phytotoxicty, Virtako 1.5 Gr

The Indian stingless bee Tetragonula iridipennis (Hymenoptera: Apidae), popularly recognized as the Indian dammer bee, is an economically important and widely distributed non-Apis bee species in India. The taxonomic gaps, systematics, evolutionary puzzles, and structural motifs within the mitogenomes of this species have rarely been examined and are not fully understood. Next-generation sequencing was employed to decipher the complete mitochondrial genome of T. iridipennis (15,045 bp). De novo genome assembly revealed that it encompasses 34 genes: protein-coding genes (13), transfer RNA (tRNAs) genes (19), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes (2). Additionally, genome organization, including gene content, nucleotide composition, codon usage, and gene rearrangement, was investigated to better comprehend, utilize, and conserve this germplasm resource. The average gene length was 400 bp; maximum and minimum lengths were 1,530 bp (cox1) and 57 bp (tRNA-S1), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis has suggested that T. iridipennis is mostly closely related to T. pagdeni and Lepidotrigona species. All the stingless bee species (Meliponini) formed a distinct clade that shared a closer relationship with bumble bees (Bombini) than honey bees (Apini). The nucleotide composition of T. iridipennis was biased toward A+T, which accounted for 75.95% of the whole mitogenome. Length and compositional differences between T. iridipennis and other bees were detected, and gene order was compared. The mitogenome of T. iridipennis showed the highest gene rearrangement score (78), suggesting this species has a hyperactive evolutionary history. The variations of gene positions and gene rearrangement in the mitogenome could also aid in resolving the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history in Meliponini. Additionally, this is the first report of a complete mitochondrial genome sequence of T. iridipennis.

Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, an economically important onion pest in India, poses a severe threat to the domestic and export supply of onions. Therefore, it is important to study the distribution of this pest in order to assess the possible crop loss, which it may inflict if not managed in time. In this study, MaxEnt was used to analyze the potential distribution of T. tabaci in India and predict the changes in the suitable areas for onion thrips under two scenarios, SSP126 and SSP585. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.993 and 0.989 for training and testing demonstrated excellent model accuracy. The true skill statistic value of 0.944 and 0.921, and the continuous Boyce index of 0.964 and 0.889 for training and testing, also showed higher model accuracy. Annual Mean Temperature (bio1), Annual Precipitation (bio12) and Precipitation Seasonality (bio15) are the main variables that determined the potential distribution of T. tabaci, with the suitable range of 22–28 °C; 300–1000 mm and 70–160, respectively. T. tabaci is distributed mainly in India's central and southern states, with 1.17 × 10 6 km 2 , covering 36.4% of land area under the current scenario. Multimodal ensembles show that under a low emission scenario (SSP126), low, moderate and optimum suitable areas of T. tabaci is likely to increase, while highly suitable areas would decrease by 17.4% in 2050 20.9% in 2070. Whereas, under the high emission scenario (SSP585), the high suitability is likely to contract by 24.2% and 51.7% for 2050 and 2070, respectively. According to the prediction of the BCC-CSM2-MR, CanESM5, CNRM-CM6-1 and MIROC6 model, the highly suitable area for T. tabaci would likely contract under both SSP126 and SSP585. This study detailed the potential future habitable area for T. tabaci in India, which could help monitor and devise efficient management strategies for this destructive pest.

IntroductionClimate change affects geographical distribution of insect pests which poses threats to the environment, as well as agricultural productivity and production worldwide. Spodoptera frugiperda is commonly known as fall armyworm (FAW), a potential insect pest of monocot crops like maize, wheat, rice and sorghum globally. Among these, maize is the most preferred host crop while worldwide there are very few reports on onion being a host of fall armyworm.MethodsThe fall armyworm (FAW) was identified by examining the morphological characteristics of its immature and mature stages, as well as by analyzing the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (COX1) gene. Further, the strain identity was confirmed through multiple sequence alignment with previously identified S. frugiperda strains from corn and rice. Also studied the biology and damage symptoms caused by FAW in onion crops.ResultsDuring our experiments, the incidence of FAW ranged from 5 to 20 percent in different plots. The highest incidence was observed in young crops (30–45 days after transplanting) that were sown in November 2020. The FAW larvae exhibited six instars, with a total larval duration of 22.2 ± 0.37 days. The pest had multiple generations per year. The fully developed larvae formed earthen cocoons in the soil for pupation, with a pupal duration of 8.0 ± 0.45 days. The male adults had a recorded longevity of 6.4± 0.40days, while the female adults lived for approximately 9.2 ± 0.37 days. The COX1 gene sequencing revealed its 100% similarity with Spodoptera frugiperda and the comparison of sequences among FAW infecting rice and maize by using multiple sequence alignment showed differences at 11 positions.DiscussionThe present study is the first report of FAW invasion in onion in India and provides basic ideas about FAW characteristics which will help to control this new invasive pest in onion. In tropical regions with multiple cropping system and seasons, it becomes very important to investigate invasive pests as well as its host range in order to forecast its potential damage and devise suitable control measures.

Four-year field experiments were conducted to assess the effect of interannual rainfall variability and distri-bution on the plant growth parameters and yield five kharif onion cultivars, viz. Bhima Super, Bhima Dark Red, Agrifound Dark Red, Arka Kalyan and Phule Samarth. Each cultivar was replicated six times. The plant growth parameters and yield were recorded dur-ing the plant growth period. The results showed that rainfall received 30-60 days after transplanting sub-stantially and negatively affected the plant growth para-meters and bulb yield of all the cultivars during the high-rainfall years while increasing onion bulb rotting losses. Bhima Super and Bhima Dark Red produced significantly higher marketable bulb yields throughout the experimental period. Hence these two cultivars can be successfully cultivated during the kharif season. How-ever, they produced 44.5-63.6% lower yield during the high-rainfall than the low-rainfall years. This indicates that the yield of kharif onion cultivars could be further increased through improved management practices.

Reorientation of life style becomes necessary for staying healthy, especially during the challenging times as it is prevailing at present. Consumption of ample plant-based foods like vegetables could be an important step towards it. However, certain vegetables hold more significance as they boost immunity. Daily intake of vegetables with immunomodulation properties (modification of the immune response or the functioning of the immune system) seems promising. The immunomodulatory properties of these vegetables are attributed to the presence of certain phytoconstituents like polysachharides (e.g. RG-I in bell pepper; CMDP-4b in pumpkin; MOP-3 in drumstick), lectins (ASA I & ASA II in garlic; BOL in cauliflower), isothiocynates (Sulforaphane in broccoli), unsaturated fatty acids (pumpkin seeds), bryonolic acid (acorn squash), ribosomes inactivating protein (Lagenin in bottle gourd), glycoprotein (Luffaculin in ridge gourd), trypsin inhibitor (MoFTI in drumsticks) etc. The aim of this review is to highlight results of work done on immunomodulatory activity of vegetables. The roles of various vegetables and their phytoconstituents, which are accountable for immunomodulation and reduction in the risk of infectious as well as non-communicable diseases, have been discussed. Such information may be encouraging for researchers to carry out further advanced research on vegetables with potential immunomodulatory properties.

Nine genotypes of garlic were evaluated for their reaction to Thrips tabaci Lindeman under natural infestation and for host plant traits. Amongst genotypes, UHF G12-2 exhibited resistant reaction; G-282 and PGS-204 were found to be moderately resistant and G- 384, G-189, Bhima purple, PGVK-07 and G-304 were susceptible. The relationship between infestation and among leaf angle (r = -0.897**) and total phenol content (r= -0.836**) showed a significant negative correlation. Leaf damage revealed a weak negative correlation with leaf angle (r= -0.483) and total phenol content (r= -0.303). The plant height and number of leaves revealed a significant negative correlation with thrips damage (r= -0.796*) and nonsignificant negative one with thrips density. Total chlorophyll content showed a non-significant negative correlation with thrips density (r= -0.278) and damage (r= -0.597). Thus, the garlic cultivar UHF G 12-2 could be a promising genotype with resistance/ tolerance, having higher phenol content, total chlorophyll and bulb yield.

Lectins are important for plant defence against various insect and viral invasions. Allium species are rich source of lectins, but till date no lectin is reported to have insecticidal activity against the onion thrips. In the present study, wild Allium species were mined for potential lectins against onion thrips. The full-length lectin genes were amplified and cloned from four wild Allium species (A. hookeri, A. altaicum, A. fistulosum and A. angulosum) which is 534 bp in length. The ‘QXDXNXVXY’ motif responsible for recognition of alpha-D-mannose is present in all the sequences of lectin. The qPCR expression analysis of lectin genes showed that A. hookeri has fourfold more expression as compared to the onion (Allium cepa). The whole plant damage assay and detached leaf damage assay revealed that A. hookeri was resistant to Thrips tabaci. The per cent leaf area damage was lowest in A. hookeri, and further larval survival rate of T. tabaci was also least (61.46 ± 1.47%) when fed on A. hookeri. The overall development of T. tabaci was also found to be delayed on A. hookeri compared to other species. The present investigation will be helpful in developing interspecific crosses and transgenics for thrips control in onion.

Onion is the most important crop challenged by a diverse group of insect pests in the agricultural ecosystem. The green semilooper (Chrysodeixis acuta Walker), a widespread tomato and soybean pest, has lately been described as an emergent onion crop pest in India. C. acuta whole mitochondrial genome was sequenced in this work. The circular genome of C. acuta measured 15,743 base pairs (bp) in length. Thirteen protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and one control region were found in the 37 sequence elements. With an average 395 bp gene length, the maximum and minimum gene length observed was 1749 bp and 63 bp of nad5 and trnR, respectively. Nine of the thirteen PCGs have (ATN) as a stop codon, while the other four have a single (T) as a stop codon. Except for trnS1, all of the tRNAs were capable of producing a conventional clover leaf structure. Conserved ATAGA motif sequences and poly-T stretch were identified at the start of the control region. Six overlapping areas and 18 intergenic spacer regions were found, with sizes ranged from 1 to 20 bp and 1 to 111 bp correspondingly. Phylogenetically, C. acuta belongs to the Plusiinae subfamily of the Noctuidae superfamily, and is closely linked to Trichoplusia ni species from the same subfamily. In the present study, the emerging onion pest C. acuta has its complete mitochondrial genome sequenced for the first time.

A checklist of onion insect pests is given herein with 149 species of eleven arthropod orders, viz., Coleoptera, Collembola, Dermaptera, Diptera, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera and Lepidoptera and two of Acarina, such as Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes. This comprises 49 families of which 46 are insect and three of Acarina. Insect family, Noctuidae includes maximum genera (16), species (27) followed by the Aphididae (8), Agromyzidae (8), Thripidae (7), Anthomyiidae (6), Syrphidae, (6), Acarididae (6), Pyralidae (5), Scarabaeidae (5), Tetranychidae (4), Muscidae (4), Fanniidae (4), Nitidulidae (3), Onychiuridae (3), Eriophyidae (2), and Simunthridae (1) are others observed. Diversity analysis revealed that foliage feeders are the dominant (69.1%) comprising of sucking pests (aphids and thrips), defoliators (cutworms and leaf eating caterpillars) and leaf miners. Bulb feeders account about 18.8% (flies, beetles, weevils, moths and mites), and root feeders represent 8.7%.

Field experiments were conducted for two consecutive seasons (kharif and rabi) during 2017–18 to evaluate the efficacy of three newer insecticides, including cyantraniliprole (@ 90 & 120 gm ai/ha), emamectin benzoate (@ 11 & 22 gm ai/ha), tolfenpyrad @ 125 ai/ha along with a conventional insecticide, profenofos @ 160 ai/ha. A total of seven treatments, including untreated control, were imposed with a randomized block design having three replications. All the insecticides were found effective against thrips. Profenofos @ 160 ai/ha was the most effective with reduction of 86.8–90% of population of thrips, low leaf curing and a maximum bulb yield (20.8–24.2 t/ha). Cyantraniliprole @ 120 gm ai/ha was the next best with 73.879% decrease of thrips population, low leaf curling index and higher bulb yield (20.9–22.1 t/ha) and was on par with profenofos.