Comparative Demography of the Spider Mite,Oligonychus afrasiaticus,on four Date Palm Varieties in Southwestern Tunisia

Abstract

The date palm mite, Oligonychus afrasiaticus (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae), is a serious pest of palm date fruits. Life cycle, fecundity, and longevity of this mite were studied on fruits of four date palms, Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae)(varieties: Deglet Noor, Alig, Kentichi, and Besser), under laboratory conditions at 27 = 1 °C, 60 ± 10% RH. Total development time of immature female was shorter on Deglet Noor fruits than on the other cultivars. O. afrasiaticus on Deglet Noor had the highest total fecundity per female, while low fecundity values occurred on Besser. The comparison of intrinsic rates of natural increase (rm), net reproductive rates (Ro), and the survival rates of immature stage of O. afrasiaticus on the host plants suggests that O. afrasiaticus performs better on Deglet Noor fruits. The mite feeding on Alig showed the lowest intrinsic rate of natural population increase (rm = 0.103 day 1). The estimation of difference in susceptibility of cultivars to O. afrasiaticus is crucial for developing efficient pest control programs. Indeed, less susceptible cultivars can either be left unsprayed or sprayed at low threshold.

Potential Synergy between Spores of Metarhizium anisopliae and Plant Secondary Metabolite, 1-Chlorooctadecane for Effective Natural Acaricide Development

“…Dust particles and exuviae from different stages are trapped into these webs resulting in the dusty appearance of bunches. Under these conditions, mites grow rapidly and multiply logarithmically [5].…”

Biological Aspects of Date Palm Dust Mite, Oligonychus afrasiaticus (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) on Fronds of Three Date Palm Cultivars

“…In Tunisia, four date palm varieties ('Deglet Noor', 'Alig', 'Kentichi', 'Besser') at 27°C and 60 % RH indicated that the total development time of immature females was shorter on 'Deglet Noor' fruits than on fruits of the other cultivars. The total fecundity per female is highest on 'Deglet Noor' and the lowest fecundity on 'Besser' (Ben Chaaban et al, 2011). The life cycle of O. afrasiaticus ranged from 13 days on 'Alig' date palm to '10.9' days on sorghum leaves at 27°C.…”

“…The highest rate of intrinsic increase in population (rm= 0.496) occurred at 35°C, and the doubling time of population was 1.40 at 35°C. In Tunisia, the intrinsic rates of natural increase (rm), net reproductive rates (R0) and the survival rates of immature stages of O. afrasiaticus on the host plants performs better on 'Deglet Noor' fruits while the lowest rm was on the 'Alig' variety (0.103 day) (Ben Chaaban et al, 2011).…”

“…Several researchers have been investigated the biology of O. afrasiaticus, under different environmental condition and biotic factors (Ba-Angood and Bass'haih, 2001;Al-Sweedy et al, 2006;Al-Jboory and Al-Suaide, 2010;Ben Chaaban et al, 2011;Ben Chaaban et al, 2012;and Elhalawany 2013).…”

Incidence of predatory phytoseiid mites in Saudi Arabia: new records and a key to the Saudi Arabian species (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina)

“…The old world date mite, Oligonychus afrasiaticus (McGregor 1939) (Acari: Tetranychidae) is a severe spider mite pest of date palm in arid regions and in most of North African and Middle Eastern countries (Calcat 1959;Hussain 1974;Zaher et al 1982;Palevsky et al 2003Palevsky et al , 2004Ben Chaaban et al 2011).…”