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Plant Parasitic and Predatory Mites (Acari: Tetranychidae, Phytoseiidae) and Population Density Fluctuation of Two-Spotted Spider Mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) on Strawberry in the Mersin Province of Turkey

Abstract

Determination of plant parasitic and beneficial mite diversity and population fluctuation of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) were carried out on Strawberry (Rosaceae: Fragaria) fields between 2011 and 2013 in the Mersin province of Turkey. In outdoor strawberry fields, the mite composition has not been investigated comprehensively in this area. Fourteen plant parasitic, predatory and saprophagous mite species were established on strawberry leaves belongs to 5 families: Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) was the predominant harmful mite species all the sampled regions of Mersin while Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor), and Phytoseiulus persimilis (Athias-Henriot) were found common predatory species. Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot), Amblyseius andersoni (Chant), Euseius stipulatus (Athias-Henroit), Euseius finlandicus (Oudemans), Typhlodromus intercalaris (Livshitz-Kuznetsov) and Phytoseius finitimus (Ribaga sensu Denmark) which belong to the Phytoseiidae family and are identified beneficial mite species. Besides this, Proctolaelaps sp. (Ascidae) (Acari: Mesostigmata) was predatory mite, while Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Shrank) (Acaridae) (Acari: Astigmata) was identified as a saprophagous species. In terms of beneficial species, Phytoseiidae is the most common family. Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) have been found to be the most harmful and abundant pests species on strawberry plants causing severe damage. The aim of this study was to determination of plant parastic and beneficial mite species and observation of the population density fluctuations of Tetranychus urticae in three different regions of Silifke (Atayurt, Işıklı and Kurtuluş villages) in Mersin. The population density of T. urticae on strawberry plants began to increase in April and late-May and peaked three times in mid-April, late-May and mid-September. The data from the studies showed that biological control could be integrated to develop an effective mite management program.

Sultan Çobanoğlu and Begül Güldali

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