Acaricides used in conventional and organic citrus orchard: leprosis and phytoseiid mites population control

The citrus leprosis control in São Paulo state is performed exclusively by acaricides to control the vector mite, Brevipalpus phoenicis, which increases the production costs and may affect the beneficial organism's population. Therefore, the aim of this trial was to evaluate during four seasons, the effects of acaricides recommended to control the mite B. phoenicis in conventional and organic citrus over evolution of citrus leprosis and over phytoseiids' population. The experiment was installed in October of 2003 in a citrus orchard in Reginopolis city, state of São Paulo. The experimental design used randomized blocks, the dosages was expressed as mL c.p./100L of water and the treatments were the following: spirodiclofen (20 mL); cyhexatin (50 mL) (used in rotation), lime sulfur (4,000 mL) and control (without pesticide application). However, the rotation between spirodiclofen and cyhexatin began in September 2006. Prior to that time, only spirodiclofen had been used. Surveys were conducted every 15 days on the B. phoenicis, Iphiseioides zuluagai, and Euseius populations. The control level adopted by the B. phoenicis was 8.3%, and the pesticide applications were conducted using tractor-sprayers. During the 2007-08 seasons, 10 infected fallen fruits per plot were collected and the number of leprosis lesions was quantified by each fruit. By the end of the 2007-08 seasons, the productivity, harvest losses, the disease incidence and severity were evaluated. It was found that the lesions' location over the fruit is more important in determining its drop than the lesions' number. The more intense the mite infestation, the greater is the number of lesions, resulting in increased premature fruit drop. A strategy using acaricides spirodiclofen and cyhexatin in rotation promoted more efficient control of B. phoenicis compared to lime sulfur, resulting in greater productivity, lower fruit losses and severity levels. The lime sulfur applications reduced the mite population incidence below the control level; however it did not prevent the lesions' occurrence. The acaricides applicarevented adverse effects on phytoseiid population because there was a reduction of their density.

Diversity of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) in the Atlantic Forest of São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Two new species of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Phytoseiid mites on grasses in Brazil (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phytoseiid mites (Acari : Phytoseiidae) on Myrtaceae in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Eighteen predatory mite species of the family Phytoseiidae are reported from three sites of the Cerrado ecosystem in the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, on seven plant species of the family Myrtaceae. This paper provides a list of those species and compares relevant morphological characteristics of the specimens collected with those of the original descriptions and/or redescriptions of the corresponding species. A key is provided to help in the separation of the species mentioned in the paper. Some of the species collected have been reported as common predators on dominant crops in the region where the work was done. Their occurrence on Myrtaceae plants found naturally in the Cerrado ecosystem indicates that those plants could represent important reservoirs of those predators.

Phytoseiid mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) found in soil and litter from Atibaia, State of São Paulo, Brazil, with description of two new species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phytoseiidae mites associated with Hevea spp. from the Amazon region: a hidden diversity under the canopy of native trees

Despite the Amazon Forest being the largest tropical forest in the world, and cradle of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), no studies have aimed to report the occurrence of mites associated with native trees from this ecosystem. Our survey investigates the phytoseiid mites associated with five species of native rubber trees from nine sites of the Amazon Forest, and also presents a major review of phytoseiid species from natural vegetation in Brazil. We found a total of 1305 mites, belonging to 30 species, of which seven were new to science, Amblydromalus akiri sp. nov., Amblyseius chicomendesi sp. nov., Amblyseius duckei sp. nov., Amblyseius manauara sp. nov., Iphiseiodes katukina sp. nov., Iphiseiodes raucuara sp. nov. and Typhlodromips igapo sp. nov.; beyond two new records for Brazil, Iphiseiodes kamahorae and Amblyseius martus. Our results emphasize the importance of Amazon native trees as an unexplored source of predator mites, which in turn may be further studied as biological control agents of pest mites on rubber trees. The impressive diversity, endemism and rate of new species found highlight the importance of studies on arthropod communities associated with the Amazon vegetation.

Two new species of Typhlodromips (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Three new species of Phytoseius Ribaga (Acari: Phytoseiidae), and a new record from Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mortalidade do ácaro predador Neoseiulus californicus (Acari: Phytoseiidae) em testes de toxicidade residual de inseticidas e acaricidas usuais em pomáceas

Os ácaros fitoseídeos, especialmente Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor), são importantes agentes de controle biológico de ácaros tetraniquídeos-praga nas culturas de pomáceas no Alto Valle del Río Negro y Neuquén, Argentina. Neste trabalho, avaliou-se a mortalidade de N. californicus quando exposto a resíduos dos inseticidas azimphos-methyl, carbaryl e cyfluthrin, e dos acaricidas cyhexatin e propargite. Os produtos foram aplicados às concentrações recomendadas em plantas de pereira. Um, três, seis e dez dias após a aplicação (DAA), folhas tratadas foram retiradas das plantas para a preparação de unidades experimentais. Cinco adultos de N. californicus, provenientes de criação-estoque, foram transferidos para cada unidade, onde pólen de taboa foi fornecido como alimento. As unidades foram mantidas a 25 ± 2 ºC, 60 ± 10% de umidade relativa e fotoperíodo de 14 h. A mortalidade do ácaro foi avaliada 24 h após o confinamento. As médias de mortalidade foram comparadas pelo teste de Dunnett, a 5% de probabilidade. A progressão do declínio do efeito dos produtos testados foi submetida à análise de regressão. Nas duas primeiras datas de avaliação, todos os produtos apresentaram valores de mortalidade significativamente diferentes da testemunha tratada com água. Seis dias após a aplicação, propargite, cyhexatin e cyfluthrin apresentaram mortalidade de aproximadamente 30%, enquanto a mortalidade nos tratamentos azimphos-methyl e carbaryl apresentou níveis estatisticamente similares aos da testemunha. Dez dias após a aplicação, a mortalidade em todos os tratamentos não diferiu significativamente da testemunha. O efeito de todos os produtos apresentou declínio progressivo ao longo do período de observação, sendo significativa a 1% de probabilidade a regressão linear negativa para os valores obtidos. Os maiores efeitos negativos sobre a sobrevivência de N. californicus corresponderam aos acaricidas testados. Azimphos-methyl foi o produto que menos afetou a sobrevivência do ácaro predador. Os inseticidas testados, usados na região do Alto Valle del Río Negro y Neuquén para o controle de Cydia pomonella, praga-chave das culturas de pomáceas, apresentaram baixa toxicidade sobre N. californicus.

A new species of Typhlodromus Scheuten (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Brazil

A new species of phytoseiid mites is described from Brazil, Typhlodromus moraesi sp. nov., collected on Tabebuia alba (Cham.) Sandwith and Chamaesyce hirta (L.) Millsp. in the State of São Paulo. This is the second species of the T. arizonicus group. Copyright © 2006 Magnolia Press.

Diversidade de ácaros em Mabea fistulifera Mart.(Euphorbiaceae) e eficiência de seu pólen como alimento fitoseídeos (Acari, Phytoseiidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influência da vegetação nativa de Mata Atlântica sobre a ocorrência e distribuição de ácaros (Acari) da seringueira (Hevea brasiliensis Muell Arg.) no estado da Bahia

Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal - IBILCE

Interações intraguilda e toxicidade a agrotóxicos a Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) e Agistemus brasiliensis Matioli, Ueckermann & Oliveira no controle de Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) em citros

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata, Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes) associated to soybean in Brazil, including new records from the cerrado areas

In Brazil, soybean Glycine max (L.) Merril crops are subjected to incidence of several pests, which are mainly insect species. However, the occurrences of other pest species are growing. In this context, outbreaks of phytophagous mites are becoming more frequent. Nevertheless, records of mites in such crop are available only for Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul states. Thus, this work gathers all information published about the diversity of mites found in soybean in Brazil, and also new records of mite species made on samplings taken from the central Cerrado area. In the whole, occurrence of 44 species of plant mites in soybean has been recorded in Brazil. Data from prior studies and the results of this work present the tetranychid Mononychellus planki (McGregor) as the mite species most frequently occurring in the Brazilian soybean crops. A large portion of Phytoseiidae species has occurred in crops from Rio Grande do Sul state. In addition, spontaneous soybean has hosted almost half of the phytoseiid species sampled in Cerrado region. High diversity of Tarsonemidae has been found in the cultivated soybean. More studies about soybean mites are needed to clarify the damage potential of phytophagous mites and the biological role of predatory mites in this crop.