Abstract
Thrips is one of the most harmful insect groups attacking many field and vegetable crops. Predatory mites, especially those in family Phytoseiidae, are considered as good bioagents to control thrips where application of chemical pesticides can be decreased. This work was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the two phytoseiid mites, Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) and Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans), in controlling the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis, Pergande) on cherry tomato plants in a hydroponic system. The results indicated that both predatory mites were effective in decreasing populations of adults and larvae of F. occidentalis at all of the chosen periods. The mixed effect of A. swirskii plus N. cucumeris (AS + NC) was higher in reducing thrips populations than that when each of them was used alone. Larvae of F. occidentalis were decreased on leaves of tomato plants from 11.2 and 14.5/leaf in the control treatment (no predatory mites) to 4.27 and 3.73/leaf due to the combination of AS and NC after 7 and 15 days, respectively. On the other hand, larvae of F. occidentalis attained levels of 8.75 and 12.83/five flowers when no predatory mites were applied compared to 2.46 and 1.20/five flowers when adults of AS plus NC were used after 50 and 60 days of releasing, respectively. This study demonstrated that the combination of AS and NC resulted in higher reductions in F. occidentalis without any competition between them.
Highlights
Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops and its fruit production reaches about 164 × 106 million tons from 4.7 × 106 ha around the world (FAOSTAT, 2015)
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the two phytoseiid predatory Typhlodromips (Amblyseius) swirskii and Neoseiulus cucumeris in controlling F. occidentalis on cherry tomato plants grown under a hydroponic system
The results indicated the positive role of predatory mites (A. swirskii plus N. cucumeris, each of A. swirskii and N. cucumeris) in controlling F. occidentalis
Summary
Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops and its fruit production reaches about 164 × 106 million tons from 4.7 × 106 ha around the world (FAOSTAT, 2015). Phytoseiid mites (Acarina: Phytoseiidae) are vital polyphagous predators and have got a great attention to be applied as bio-control agents or as alternative approaches to pesticides against F. occidentalis on different plants such as vegetable, fruit, and ornamental crops under both greenhouse and field conditions (Jacobson et al, 2001; van Houten et al, 2005 and Messelink et al, 2006) These predatory mites have been successfully used against several pests, including spider mites, whitefly, and thrips (Chow et al, 2010; Fouly et al, 2011 and Kakkar et al, 2016) but their beneficial effects in managing F. occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on tomato plants have not been evaluated thoroughly and are needed to be reported. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the two phytoseiid predatory Typhlodromips (Amblyseius) swirskii and Neoseiulus cucumeris in controlling F. occidentalis on cherry tomato plants grown under a hydroponic system
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