Management of Summer Populations of European Red Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) on Apple with Horticultural Oil

Abstract

A highly refined horticultural petroleum oil, Sunspray Ultra Fine, was evaluated in laboratory and field tests for efficacy against summer eggs and larvae of European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch). Oil had significant ovicidal and residual larvicidal activity in dip treatments at rates as low as 0.00005%, but treatments using the same rates in a Potter spray tower caused less mortality. High-contact mortality of mite larvae sprayed in laboratory tests was obtained at rates of 0.25-1.00%. Field applications of oil by airblast sprayer were tested during the summer for their ability to suppress mite populations throughout the growing season. Effective control was achieved with three applications of oil at 3 and 2%, starting at the petal-fall stage and continuing on a 2-3-wk schedule. A rate of 1% provided control under conditions of moderate population pressure but required an additional spray in late July under severe population pressure. Rates of 0.25 and 0.05% resulted in unacceptable mite numbers by midsummer. Phytotoxicity caused by the oil was most severe at the higher rates, but oil caused no leaf drop even when trees were moisture-stressed. No effects of oil were seen on fruit finish or color, except for an increase in scarf skin of 'Law Rome' at the highest rates. High-pressure handgun oil sprays against a mixed population of mite eggs, immatures, and adults reduced motile forms by 79-95% at rates of 2:0.25%.

Host-seeking behaviour of tracheal mites (Acari: Tarsonemidae) on honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…Some oils can be toxic to mites (Agnello and Reissig, 1994;Pless and Deyton, 1995) but vegetable shortening did not kill female tracheal mites during ~ 2 h immersion. Sachs (1958) claimed that mites in petroleum jelly and water lived > 48 h and surmised they starved to death.…”

Acaricides - Biological Profiles, Effects and Uses in Modern Crop Protection

“…At least some modern oils cause a range of cellular disruption leading to rapid insect death (Najar-Rodriguez et al, 2008). PDSO are highly effective against spider mites and eriophyoid mites in various field and greenhouse crops (Agnello et al, 1994;Nicetic et al, 2001;Marčić et al, 2009;Chueca et al, 2010). Beside mineral, plant oils proved to be effective acaricides as well, such as cottonseed oil (Rock & Crabtree, 1987) soybean oil (Lancaster et al, 2002;Moran et al, 2003) and rapeseed oil (Kiss et al, 1996;Marčić et al, 2009).…”

Effectiveness of azadirachtin (NeemAzal-T/S) in controlling pear psylla (Cacopsylla pyri) and European red mite (Panonychus ulmi)

“…In mineral oil treatment 7 DAT, efficacy was 92.4%; 14 DAT and 21 DAT it was 75.2% and 78.9%, and it dropped to below 60% at the end of the trial. Considering that the mode of action of horticultural mineral oils on insects and mites is suffocation, and the fact that more than a single treatment is normally required to achieve effective control of tetranychid mites in apple orchards (Agnello et al, 1994;Fernandez et al, 2005), such a level of efficacy may be considered satisfactory. On the other hand, the efficacy of clofentezine (39.4-68.2%) was unsatisfactory, which is probably the result of a resistance developed under high selection pressure of these compounds in the Morović locality in preceding years.…”

“…As a result, there is a constant need for having new acaricides of different modes of activity available in order to expand their choice over the season. Tested against spider mites in laboratory, greenhouse and field trials, neem-based products have shown di- rect toxic effects on different development stages, feeding and oviposition deterrence, reduction in fecundity, fertility and longevity (Sundaram and Sloane, 1995;Mansour et al, 1997;Hiiesaar et al, 1998;Kashenge and Makundi, 2001;Kleeberg and Hummel, 2001;Chiasson et al, 2004;Martinez-Villar et al, 2005). The extent of these effects was dependent on the type of formulations of the neem products.…”