On watching a crop suffer and not knowing why
The first time a thrips infestation really hit hard, I didn't recognize it fast enough. The leaves had this faint silver curl. Some flowers dropped before setting. Yield at harvest was maybe 60% of what it should've been.
Thrips are small enough to miss. They feed in hidden places. And by the time you see real damage, they've been there for days.
What I've learned since: fast action matters more than anything. A Spinosad-based spray — bio-derived, works on contact and ingestion — can start controlling populations within hours. Not days. Hours.
The 10-day residual effect means you don't have to chase the pest every few days either.
Farming teaches you that timing is everything. The soil, the rain, the spray — it all comes down to doing the right thing at the right moment.
Miss the window, lose the crop. Catch it in time, and you save what you worked all season for.
