Beyond Biological Control: An Integrated Mineral Intervention Strategy Against Thrips parvispinus in Greenhouse Pepper

The rapid expansion of Thrips parvispinus in protected pepper production in southeastern Spain has exposed a structural vulnerability in biological-control programmes optimised for flower-dwelling thrips. A 2026 semi-field study found that only 5.5% of T. parvispinus occupied flowers, while the most effective tested predator, Orius laevigatus, did not eliminate the challenge. The pest also protects its eggs within plant tissue and commonly undergoes pupation in the substrate. These features call for a spatially and temporally distributed intervention rather than a single foliar or predator-focused response. This article develops a practical, cost-oriented intervention architecture based on two existing proprietary mineral technology platforms: KNAMAX™ water-conditioning technology, producing activated alkaline ionised water (AAI), and ACARISIN™, a food-grade mineral system with documented historical pest-protection applications. The core proposition is not that generic mineral ingredients necessarily kill this species: it is that a staged deployment of an aqueous intervention module, mineral contact protection, focal substrate management, exclusion and surveillance can reduce the effective reproductive multiplier by acting on different life-history compartments.