Brevipalpus Phoenicis Geijskes Research Articles

Morphological characters and distribution of mites in strobery plant (Fragaria Vesca L.) in high land Sembalun

Pest mites are reported to attack strawberries in vegetative to generative stages. But not much information is available regarding the types of pest mites and predators associated with strawberries in the Sembalun area This study aims to determine the morphological character and distribution of pest mite species on strawberry plants in the Sembalun area. This research has been carried out from November 2017 to February 2018 in two central strawberry production villages namely Sembalun Bumbung and Sembalun Lawang, Sembalun District, East Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara Province. The method used in this research is descriptive method with survey techniques and data collection in the field. Two species of pest mites were found, namely Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes and Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida with an average population of 0.9 ± 2.9 mites / plants. The dominance index and the highest abundance are Tetranychus kanzawai valued at 0.875 and 93.55%. Pest mite population distribution is quite even, where both mite species are found at each sampling location.

Biological Aspects and Life Table Parameters of the Predatory Mite, Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) Reared on Different Diets

The predator mite Neoseiulus californicus McGregor is an effective predator that is used to control the invasion of Tetranychus urticae Koch on crop plants. Experiments for rearing N. californicus on different food sources were carried out under laboratory condition (25±2oC, 75+5 % RH). N. californicus was reared on three different food types; two types of phytophagous mites (Tetranychus urticae and Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes) and date palm pollens. In response to food type, the periods of N. californicus immature stages were 4.79, 8.14, and 11.79 days for females and 3.93, 6.71, and 10.71 days for males when fed on T. urticae, B. phoenicis, and date palm pollen, respectively.The developmental periods (life cycle) of both female and male individuals were longer when they fed on date palm pollen (14.07, 12.86 days for females and males respectively) compared with 6.93, 5.79 days for females and males in case of feeding on T. urticae and 10.29, 8.79 days for those reared on B. phoenicis.N. californicus males completed their developmental stages on the studied food types successfully ,however, N. californicus females were significantly affected by the type of food, which recorded the highest number of eggs per each female when fed on T. urticae (32.14 eggs), followed by females that fed on B. phoenicis and date palm pollen (13.29 and 3.86 eggs, respectively). Obtained results provide alternatives of T. urticae to rear N. californicus for mass production although the efficiency was not the same.

Ricoseius loxocheles (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is not a predator of false spider mite on coffee crops: What does it eat?

Ricoseius loxocheles (De Leon) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is often found in coffee crops and is known to feed on coffee leaf rust, Hemileia vastatrix Berkeley and Broome (Uredinales). As the occurrence of coffee leaf rust is limited primarily to the rainy season, the mite may use other food sources to survive during the periods of low pathogen prevalence. It is well known that phytoseiid mites can survive on a variety of food sources, such as herbivorous mites, fungi and pollen. We evaluated the ability of R. loxocheles to survive and reproduce on a diet of Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), cattail pollen (Typha spp.), clover rust (Puccinia oxalidis), bee pollen (Santa Bárbara® dehydrated pollen, Santa Bárbara, MG, Brazil) and coffee leaf rust. Ricoseius loxocheles did not survive or reproduce on any B. phoenicis stages tested (egg, larva, adult). The survival and oviposition of R. loxocheles were directly affected by the presence of coffee rust urediniospores, but not by the presence of the prey. Survival and oviposition of the phytoseiid were similar when fed cattail pollen, clover rust and coffee leaf rust but was lower when fed bee pollen. Our results show that R. loxocheles is not a predator of B. phoenicis but it is able to utilize other resources besides coffee leaf rust.

Parámetros de transmisión del virus de la leprosis de los cítricos por Brevipalpus yothersi (Acari: Tenuipalpidae)

La leprosis de los cítricos, causada por virus (Citrus Leprosis Virus, CiLV), es un problema fitosanitario de importancia económica y cuarentenaria para la citricultura de países productores. En Colombia su presencia fue confirmada en 2004 en los departamentos del Meta y Casanare; el ácaro Brevipalpus yothersi Baker (antes identificado como Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes) (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), se reconoce como el principal vector del virus en el país. Se determinaron los parámetros: período de acceso para adquisición, período de acceso para inoculación y porcentaje de ácaros infectados con CiLV, por medio de pruebas de transmisión y análisis moleculares en el Centro de Investigación “La Libertad” de CORPOICA, Meta, Colombia. Al probar períodos de adquisición entre 10 minutos y 72 horas, se encontró que B. yothersi adquiere el virus después de 30 minutos de alimentación sobre hojas de naranja Valencia (Citrus sinensis L.) Osbeck con lesiones de leprosis. El período mínimo requerido por los ácaros para transmitir el virus hacia plantas de C. sinensis fue de 10 minutos. Para períodos de transmisión desde 10 minutos hasta 24 horas, los porcentajes de infección variaron entre 25 y 68,75 % en las hojas receptoras. De acuerdo a pruebas de transmisión y análisis RT-PCR, después de tres días de alimentación sobre lesiones de leprosis, el 40 % de las poblaciones del ácaro evaluadas adquirió el virus CiLV-C2. Los resultados obtenidos amplían el conocimiento de las interacciones planta - virus - vector, lo cual es fundamental para el establecimiento de programas de prevención y manejo de la enfermedad.

Citrus leprosis virus C infects Arabidopsis thaliana, the model for plant-pathogen interactions

Caused by Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C) (genus Cilevirus) and vectored by Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes, leprosis is one of the main diseases of the Brazilian citrus industry. Although this disease was reported decades ago, the mechanisms involved in plant- virus interaction are still largely unknown. Since Arabidopsis thaliana has emerged as the major experimental model for essentially all aspects of plant biology, we tested the ability of CiLV-C to infect this model plant, evaluating the response of 12 ecotypes: Bur-0, Kas-1, Van- 0, Bay-0, C-24, Col-0, Ts-1, Tsu-1, Bla-2, Kon, Sha and Nfa-8. Four-week-old plants grown under 16 h photoperiod and 22°C were infested with two viruliferous or non viruliferous mites, or were not exposed to mites. Each treatment had twelve replicates of each ecotype. Localized necrotic lesions in green and senescent leaves and localized green lesions in senescent leaves appeared after 5-10 days only in plants infested with viruliferous mites. Thin-sectioned symptomatic tissues contained short bacilliform particles and viroplasm similar to those found in citrus. RT-PCR assays using primers that amplify part of the CiLV- C movement protein gene (Locali et al., 2003) yielded amplicons from all symptomatic plants, which were sequenced, proving identical to those obtained from the naturally infected CiLV-C source. CiLV-C was able to infect all of the tested A. thaliana ecotypes with reactions that identified three resistance level groups: more susceptible (Bur-0, Kas-1, Van-0, Bay-0, and C-24), intermediate (Col-0, Ts-1, and Tsu-1) and more resistant (Bla-2, Kon, Sha, and Nfa-8). Besides extending the range of CiLV-C hosts to a member of the family Brassicaceae, the use of A. thaliana in further studies will provide the opportunity for uncovering mechanisms involved in host-virus interaction.

CITRUS LEPROSIS IN FLORIDA, USA, APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY THE NUCLEAR TYPE OF CITRUS LEPROSIS VIRUS (CiLV-N)

Citrus leprosis (CL) is a highly destructive viral disease vectored by Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes (Acari: Tenuipalpidae). It was first described in Florida in 1907 and last reported in 1968. CL was found after the 1920s in South America (Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil) and presently is known to occur in most of the South American countries. After its detection in Panama in 2000, the disease spread quickly northward through Central America and is now established in Southern Mexico, threatening all of the Caribbean islands as well as the citrus growing areas within the United States. The disappearance of the CL from the United States could be attributed to the severe freeze of December 1966. Multiple spray applications of sulphur for mite control could have gradually reduced the source of inoculum by substantially reducing the Brevipalpus populations. Recent ultrastructural studies revealed that CL may be caused by two distinct viruses, respectively the rare nuclear type (CiLV-N) and the prevalent cytoplasmic type (CiLV-C). A slight difference in foliar lesions caused by these viruses was noticed. CiLV-C produces leaf lesions that become larger in size, with a pale green color and commonly having gummy rings while CiLV-N induces smaller lesions with a dark center and a bright yellow halo. Analysis of available photographic records and samples in the Herbarium of the Instituto Biologico de Sao Paulo in Brazil strongly suggest that CL in Florida was caused by CiLV-N. This helps to explain the disappearance of CL from the United States because it is now known that CiLV-N is less aggressive than CiLV-C. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17525/vrr.v16i1-2.51

Nitrogen fertilization and yield losses of tea to red crevice mite (Brevipalpus phoenicis geijskes) in the Eastern Highlands of Kenya

A field trial using a mite-susceptible clone 11/4 of tea whose yield potential is over 3 t ha-1 year-1 was conducted to determine how yield losses due to infestation by red crevice mite (Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes) relate to nitrogen nutrition. This was done over a 3 year period in plots either receiving 0, 100, or 200 kg N ha-1 year-1. For determining the losses due to mites, an acaricide check method of yield loss assessment was used. Mites were controlled in the plots by spraying flucythrinate. The yield varied considerably between seasons with mean yields in the 3 year period ranging from 2.0 to 2.4 t ha -1 without fertilizer and 2.4 to 2.6 t ha-1 year-1 at 100 kg N and 2.5 to 2.7 t ha-1 year-1 at 200 kg N. Application of the acaricide decreased the mite population by 60-74%. Yield loss between sprayed and unsprayed treatments was 12-22% without fertilizer but this was reduced to 5-6% when fertilizer was supplied at 100-200 kg N ha-1. The reduction in yield losses in fertilized plots indicate the beneficial effects of nitrogen in inducing tolerance to mites and possibly increasing plant vigour. Protecting the tea from mite attack resulted in yield advantage and a net benefit of $US 0.3, 0.2 and 0.2 per kg made tea at 0, 100 and 200 kg N ha-1 respectively. Application of 100 kg N ha-1 had higher net cost benefit than the 200 kg N application rate. The strategy for control of mites would be to integrate spraying with use of fertilizer.

Virus-like particles associated with Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), vector of citrus leprosis virus

Seccoes ultrafinas do acaro Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes, vetor da leprose dos citros, foram examinadas ao microscopio eletronico. Particulas semelhantes a virus (rhabdovirus ou badnavirus) foram observadas no corpo do vetor. As particulas sao similares as ja noticiadas em tecidos foliares de citros que apresentavam sintomas de leprose.

Influence of soil applied nitrogen (NPKS 25: 5: 5:5) on Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) mite incidence and damage symptoms on tea

SummaryApplication of nitrogenous fertilisers (NPKS 25: 5: 5:5) for yield of tea and to induce tolerance to the red crevice (Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes) mite was found to be rates between 150 and 200 Kg N ha‐1 yr‐1 rates above 400 Kg N ha‐1 encouraged the build up of mites on tea. Damage symptoms resulting from mite infestation declined with increase in application of nitrogenous fertilisers.The levels of nitrogen in the leaf tissues increased with soil applied nitrogen and also was related to the mite numbers found on the leaves suggesting a link. The symptoms of the discoloured necrotic leaf base that accompanied mite infestation was significantly (P≤ 0.05) and linearly correlated (r = 0.60) to mite numbers in the control plot. The levels of applied nitrogen were negatively correlated to % leaf necrosis suggesting a tolerance leading to reduction in necrotic symptoms with fertiliser applications.

Evaluation of different acaricides for control of red crevice miteBrevipalpus phoenicisGeijskes (Acari‐Tenuipalpidae) infesting tea

Abstract Field evaluation of different acaricides for control of red crevice mite Brevipalpus phoenicis Geijskes on tea revealed that all the tested acaricides, namely, Cybolt, dicofol, Folimat, dimethoate and Ambush, were effective in controlling the mites. However, significant yield increase was obtained in Cybolt‐ and Ambush‐treated plots compared to the other acaricides.

Effectiveness of the Different Life Cycle Stages of Brevipalpus Phoenicis Geijskes in Leprosis Transmission

Effectiveness of the Different Life Cycle Stages of Brevipalpus Phoenicis Geijskes in Leprosis Transmission