Mite species (Acari) on blackberry cultivars in organic and conventional farms in Florida and Georgia, USA

Rana Akyazı,Oscar E Liburd,Cal Welbourn

doi:10.24349/acarologia/20214414

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine mite species on blackberry plants (Rubus spp. (Rosaceae)) in Florida and Georgia, USA, and differences in mite species between organic and conventional blackberry plantings in the area sampled. Surveys were conducted in organic and conventional commercial blackberry plantings from June to October 2016. Leaf samples were collected monthly from nine different blackberry cultivars including ‘Arapaho’, ‘Choctaw’, ‘Freedom’, ‘Kiowa’, ‘Natchez’, ‘Navaho’, ‘Osage’, ‘Ouachita’, and Von. Approximately 20 leaves per blackberry plant were taken. Twenty mite species (a total of 152 mite specimens) belonging to 7 families including Phytoseiidae (9 species), Ascidae (1), Cheyletidae (1), Erythraeidae (1), Stigmaeidae (1), Tetranychidae (4) and Tarsonemidae (3) were identified during the study. It was found that the abundance of predatory mites collected in organic farms was over 2-fold higher (105) than in conventional farms (47), which may be related to pesticide use on these commercial farms. Future surveys should provide a list of predatory species, which may hold potential for biological control of economically important pest mites.

Highlights

Blackberries (Rubus spp. (Rosaceae)) are a major small fruit crop that is grown throughout Europe and the United States (Strik 2007)
The total number of mites collected in organic farms (105) was over 2fold higher than in conventional farms (47)
While all of the twenty mite species identified during the study could be collected from organic farms, just nine could be obtained from conventional farms

Summary

Introduction

Blackberries (Rubus spp. (Rosaceae)) are a major small fruit crop that is grown throughout Europe and the United States (Strik 2007). The broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) is one of two species in the family Tarsonemidae that cause extensive damage to crop plants (Liburd et al 2020). Most of the mites were phytophagous species belonging to the families Diptilomiopidae (80.9%) and Tetranychidae (13.9%). Trinidad et al (2019) evaluated the occurrence of phytophagous and predatory mites in different blackberry genotypes in the municipality of Pelotas, RS, Brazil. They recorded a total of 12 mite species belonging to the families Tetranychidae, Diptilomiopidae, Eriophyidae, Tarsonemidae, Tenuipalpidae, Stigmaeidae, Tydeidae, Phytoseiidae. This study was carried out to determine phytophagous and predatory mite species on nine commercially available blackberry cultivars in Florida and Georgia, USA in 2016

Material and Methods

Sampling Method

Results and Discussion

Conclusion