Provisioning of food supplements enhances the conservation of phytoseiid mites in citrus

Publication date: Available online 17 September 2017 Source:Biological Control Author(s): Aleixandre Beltrà, Altea Calabuig, Cristina Navarro-Campos, María José Ramirez, Antonia Soto, Ferran Garcia-Marí, Felix L. Wäckers, Apostolos Pekas Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are amongst the most abundant and important predators in citrus. They range from specialist species feeding exclusively on spider mites to generalist species that can feed and reproduce on several prey as well as non-prey foods such as pollen, fungi and honeydew. Feeding on non-prey foods is crucial for the conservation of phytoseiids especially during periods when prey are scarce or absent. In a greenhouse experiment using citrus plantlets we tested the impact of provisioning cattail pollen (Typha angustifolia L.) and a sucrose solution, alone or in combination, on the population development of the pollen adapted feeder Euseius stipulatus (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). The highest E. stipulatus populations were registered in the treatment where the pollen was supplied in combination with the sucrose solution. The phytoseiid abundance in the sugar and pollen treatment was higher than the sum of the abundances when either the pollen or the sugars were supplied separately. Thus, pollen and sugar acted synergistically on the populations of E. stipulatus. Subsequently, we tested the combination of pollen and sugar in a six month field study in two commercial citrus orchards in eastern...

Source: Biological Control - September 19, 2017 Category: Biology Source Type: research