RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Onion thrips Thrips tabaci [Thysanoptera: Thripidae] reduces yields and THC in indoor grown cannabis JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.05.11.088997 DO 10.1101/2020.05.11.088997 A1 Frédéric McCune A1 Chad Murphy A1 James Eaves A1 Valérie Fournier YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/06/26/2020.05.11.088997.abstract AB Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L. [Rosales: Cannabaceae]) is a newly legalized crop and requires deeper insights on its pest communities. In this preliminary study, we identified a thrips species affecting indoor grown cannabis in Canada and tested its impact on plant yield. We used three levels of initial infestation (zero, one, and five thrips) on individual plants grown in two growing mediums: normal substrate or substrate containing the biostimulant Bacillus pumilus, Meyer and Gottheil [Bacillales: Bacillaceae]. We found that the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci (Lindeman) [Thysanoptera: Thripidae] is proliferating in indoor grown cannabis. Furthermore, our results showed that fresh yields were higher for the plants that initially received zero thrips compared to those that initially received five thrips. Moreover, the biostimulant did not help reduce the impact of thrips. We highlight the importance for growers to carefully monitor thrips infestations in indoor grown cannabis. Finally, we emphasize the need for more research related to the impact of pests on cannabis yields and safe means of pest control for this strictly regulated crop.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.