General outlook After a brief spike in temperatures over the last few days, with highs in the low to middle 80s F, a more unsettled and cooler pattern will return for the coming week, including a chance of localized rain showers on Saturday. Highs will likely be in the middle 70s F to high 80's F once Saturday's cooler front has passed through. Overall temperatures will be adequate for thrips development and we expect to see populations continue to develop.
Thrips/TSWV situation We are expecting generation 2 adults to peak in the next few days. If temperatures stay on track generation 3 will likely see its peak adult numbers in the first week of June. We have now had confirmed TSWV cases in the southern San Joaquin Valley and the Sacramento Valley, so this seems like a year when targeting generation 3 will give useful benefits. Generation 3 juveniles will be feeding and developing over the rest of May, so treatments applied in the second half of the month will have a chance to prevent infected adults from spreading the virus to new hosts. If you are considering investing in a thrips treatment this season, the second half of May appears to be a good time to make that treatment.