Parasitus bituberosus (Acari: Parasitidae): An agent for control ofLycoriella solani (Diptera: Sciaridae) in mushroom crops

Abstract

In trials conducted in a mushroom crop grown in commercial growing bags and inoculated with the dipteran pest, Lycoriella solani, and/or the predatory mite Parasitus bituberosus, the mite reduced adult pest numbers ty 50-66%. It also reduced the numbers of larval Heteropeza pygmaea, a second dipteran pest which occurred as a contaminant in one trial. Fewer mites were extracted towards the end of the cropping period. No evidence was found of an oscillating relationship between predator and prey over the trial period. Crop yield was increased by 18% and unsaleable yield was reduced by 50%. It is suggested that the mite can contribute to an integrated pest management system.

Mesostigmata as Biological Control Agents, with Emphasis on Rhodacaroidea and Parasitoidea

“…Encouraging examples warranting further studies include the results presented by Al-Amidi and Downes ( 1990 ) and Al-Amidi et al ( 1991 ) with the parasitid P. bituberosus used against the fl ies H. pygmaea and L. solani , Lesna et al ( 1995 ) with the parasitid P. fi metorum against the mite R. robini , and Castilho et al ( 2009 ) with the rhodacarid P. posnaniensis for the control of the thrips F. occidentalis . It is possible to envision large scale production of some of these mites for periodic releases on selected crops.…”

“…They reported that the predator could delay or reduce the peak of H. pygmaea , thus reducing yield loss. Al-Amidi et al ( 1991 ) evaluated the performance of P. bituberosus against the fungus gnat L. solani in commercial mushroom houses. The number of L. solani from bags inoculated with the predator was reduced three-fold compared with bags without predators, indicating the potential use of this predator in integrated pest management.…”

Development and reproductive capacity of the predatory mite Parasitus consanguineus (Acari: Parasitidae) reared on the larval stages of Megaselia halterata and Lycoriella ingenua

“…Several mite species have been found to be effective predators of mushroom pests, especially dipteran larvae (Gillespie and Quiring 1990;Al-Amidi et al 1991;Wright and Chambers 1994;Enkegaard et al 1997;Rudzińska 1998;Rudzińska-Sajdak 1998;Jess and Bingham 2004). Al-Amidi and Downes (1990) found that Parasitus bituberosus (Karg) preys on sciarid larvae and eggs, cecid larvae, nematodes and springtails.…”

Efficacy of Acaricides and botanicals against Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari:Acaridae)

“…Nicotine was the first plant product used for the mite control although it was proved ineffective [49]. Petroleum oils although effective against mites, but proved phytotoxic to mushroom mycelium, hence could not be used for the control of mushroom mites [50][51].…”