Performance of the predator Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on greenhouse eggplants in the absence and presence of pine Pinus brutia (Pinales:Pinaceae) pollen

Abstract

In Turkey, the western thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is a key pest affecting eggplants grown in greenhouses for which an appropriate control strategy is under investigation. It was observed in a previous study that the release of the beneficial predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Athias‐Henriot) alone did not result in an effective control of thrips on eggplants. Since pollen is known to improve control efficiency of predators, this study was undertaken to investigate if provision of pollen to eggplants can greatly improve the efficiency of A. swirskii in controlling thrips. The experiments were carried out in both greenhouse and low tunnel. The provision of pollen led to a significant increase in the predator population density on the eggplants but did not result in an effective control of the thrips populations. In this paper, various factors are discussed that could have affected the efficiency of the predatory mite in controlling F. occidentalis on eggplants.

Provisioning predatory mites with entomopathogenic fungi or pollen improves biological control of a greenhouse psyllid pest

“…The increasing A. limonicus population on strawberries supplemented by T. latifolia pollen does not improved the control efficiency on F. occidentalis and whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) . Besides, the significant high number of A. swirskii population by provision of Pinus brutia pollen and T. latifolia pollen did not significantly reduce thrips F. occidentalis populations on eggplants cultivar ‘Cukurova topagi’ . However, in our study the provisioning of T. orientalis pollen resulted in a significantly higher abundance of the resident A. limonicus after the second week.…”

“…66 Besides, the significant high number of A. swirskii population by provision of Pinus brutia pollen and T. latifolia pollen did not significantly reduce thrips F. occidentalis populations on eggplants cultivar 'Cukurova topagi'. 65 However, in our study the provisioning of T. orientalis pollen resulted in a significantly higher abundance of the resident A. limonicus after the second week. The combined use of A. limonicus and T. orientalis pollen achieved a lower density of TPP egg and nymph populations after the fourth week on bell peppers.…”

“…Supplemental food for predatory mites could influence the performance of predators on pests in crops . The addition of pollen does not always improve the outcome of predatory mite on target prey.…”

“…Supplemental food for predatory mites could influence the performance of predators on pests in crops. [63][64][65] The addition of pollen does not always improve the outcome of predatory mite on target prey. The increasing A. limonicus population on strawberries supplemented by T. latifolia pollen does not improved the control efficiency on F. occidentalis and whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).…”