Influence of host plant species on the development and reproduction of hawthorn spider mites

Abstract

A leaf disc bioassay was employed to investigate the influence of host species of deciduous fruit trees, like apple, peach, plum, cherry and apricot, on the development and reproduction of the hawthorn spider mite Tetranychus viennensis Zacher in the laboratory under conditions of 25±1℃, 60±10% RH and a photoperiod of 16 h: 8 h light: dark. This was done by determining the duration of each life stage of the mites, the intrinsic rate of population increase (r m ), mean generation time (T) and net reproductive rate (R 0 ) of the spider mites on each of the host plant species. Differences in life table parameters of the spider mite among host plants were analyzed with the jack-knife method. The results indicated that plum might be the best suitable plant for the spider mite among the plants tested due to shorter developmental period and higher intrinsic rate of increase, whereas cherry and apricot were least suitable due to their long developmental duration and low intrinsic rates of increase. When the spider mites were transferred from apple to other fruit trees, negative effects on developmental duration, fecundity and life table parameters were found in the first generation, but the effects faded out in succeeding generations. When transferred onto plum and peach, the spider mite adapted to the new hosts in the second generation; however, on cherry and apricot, it adapted in the third generation.

Effect of host plants on developmental time and life table parameters of Amphitetranychus viennensis (Acari: Tetranychidae)

“…The r m values on cherry and apple obtained in the present study were higher than those obtained by Li et al (2006). Similar to our finding, these authors also found that the r m of A. viennensis was higher on apple than on cherry; Gotoh and Takayama (1992) had not found this.…”

“…Similar to our finding, these authors also found that the r m of A. viennensis was higher on apple than on cherry; Gotoh and Takayama (1992) had not found this. Li et al (2006) concluded that mites can adapt to the transferred host plant gradually, based on an initial adverse effect on development and reproduction of A. viennensis during a few generations after shifting host plants. Our results confirm their results.…”

“…Besides, it also causes indirect damage by laying eggs on the leaf surface and covering them with silky thread. At high population levels, the mite may cause defoliation (Ji et al 2005;Li et al 2006). In Iran, A. viennensis was first recorded on black cherry in Isfahan province (Sepasgozarian and Schruft 1975).…”

“…In the growing area, the mite can migrate on to different host plants. Investigations on the interaction between pest and its host plant are needed to improve our understanding of the dynamics of pest population and thereby develop effective IPM programs in deciduous tree orchards (Li et al 2006).…”

Assessment of Sublethal Effects of Clofentezine on Life-table Parameters in Hawthorn Spider Mite (Tetranychus viennensis)

“…Marcic (2003) reported effects of clofentezine on lifetable parameters of T. urticae females that survived a concentration causing ‡90% mortality at one of the developmental stages. However, clofentezine persists up to 12 weeks (Marshall et al 1994), during which at least three generations of T. viennensis (Li et al 2005) were exposed to the toxicants. One of the acknowledged limitations of conventional toxicity tests is their inability to evaluate the impact of toxicants on subsequent generations (Rebecca et al 2002).…”