Infestation of Raoiella indica Hirst (Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) on Host Plants of High Socio-Economic Importance for Tropical America

Abstract

The mite Raoiella indica Hirst was recently introduced into America, where it has shown amazing ability to disseminate and broaden its range of hosts. An experiment was conducted in Cancún, Mexico, to determine infestation levels of this mite on plants recorded as hosts: coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) of cultivars Pacific Tall and Malayan Dwarf, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) hybrids Deli x Ghana and Deli x Nigeria, Dwarf Giant banana (Musa acuminata, AAA subgroup Cavendish), Horn plantain (M. acuminata x Musa balbisiana, AAB subgroup Plantain), lobster claw (Heliconia bihai), and red ginger (Alpinia purpurata). Nursery plants of these host species or cultivars were artificially infested with R. indica in February 2011. In the four replications of 10 plants, each plant was infested with 200 R. indica specimens, and the numbers of infesting mites were recorded for 6 months. A maximum of 18,000 specimens per plant were observed on coconut Pacific Tall and Malayan Dwarf, followed by lobster claw, with a maximum of 1000 specimens per plant. Infestations were minimal for the remaining plants. Mite numbers on all plants declined naturally during the rainy season. All plant materials sustained overlapping mite generations, indicating that they are true hosts. Complementarily, infestation level was determined in backyard bananas and plantains. Correlations of infestation with plant height, distance from coconuts, and exposure to direct sunlight were estimated. Both bananas and plantains were infested by R. indica even when situated far from infested coconut palms. A Spearman correlation was found between infestation and plant height, although it was significant only for Silk plantain.

Biology of Red Palm Mite, Raoiella indica, on Different Coconut Varieties

“…This finding similar to other work which stated that no differential susceptibility of Pacific Tall and Malayan Yellow Dwarf variety against R. indica (Otero- Colina et al, 2016). However, other works indicate that several coconut varieties has different susceptibility, particularly related to chemical composition of the leaves.…”

Raoiella of the world (Trombidiformes: Tetranychoidea: Tenuipalpidae)

“…(unconfirmed host). See Dowling et al (2008), Kane et al (2012), Carillo et al (2012), Otero-Colina et al (2016 and Taylor (2017) , Ramos & Aguilar (2014), Giliomee & Ueckermann (2016), Otero-Colina et al (2016, Taylor (2017) and García Ochaeta (2018) for further distribution details.…”

What is the Southern Limit of the Distribution of Red Palm Mite, Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), in Agricultural Lands in Brazil?

“…Coconut, Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae), is the principal host of R. indica (Carrillo et al 2011a;Navia et al 2015;Otero-Colina et al 2016;Gómez-Moya et al 2017;Polanco-Arjona et al 2017). Although mid-southern Brazil is not very important in the produc-tion of coconut, this plant is commonly found in southern Brazil and other parts of the country as backyard plantations, or as ornamentals in this and other Brazilian regions (IBGE 2017).…”