Interaction between predatory mites in control of two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Koch) on tomato in greenhouseInterakcje pomiędzy drapieżnymi roztoczami stosowanymi do redukowania liczebności przędziorka chmielowca Tetranychus urticae (Koch) na pomidorze szklarniowym

Abstract

Summary According to the Directive 2009/128/EC all member countries of the European Union are obligated to introduce, implement and use integrated plant protection programmes by 2014. The main purpose of these new plant protection systems which are based on the principles of sustainable agriculture is to combine good agriculture practice with environment protection. Therefore, biological control methods are considered as a priority and one of the most important elements of integrated plant protection, both in greenhouse grown and field crops. Tetranychus urticae is one of the most important pest in greenhouse crops. Successful control of this pest is very difficult. The results of the laboratory and greenhouse studies showed that the predator mites Phytoseiulus persimilis T and Amblyseius cucumeris were highly effective when used together against the two-spotted spider mites (82% mortality). When the predators were used separately they were less effective in reducing the pest populations (P. persimilis – 68%, A. cucumeris – 38% mortality). These predatory mites used in the experiments demonstrated a neutral interaction. The studies showed that Amblyseius swirskii was competitive to A. andersoni populations in controlling the two-spotted spider mite.