Important mite pests of temperate and sub-tropical crops: A review

Abstract

Role of horticultural produce especially fruit crops on Indian economy needs no emphasis. Different temperate and sub-tropical fruits namely apple and pear, peach, plum, apricot and cherry, walnut, pecan nut, hazelnut and pistachio nut, mango, litchi, citrus, guava, sapota and pomegranate are commercial and cultivated on large scale all over India. Majority of these crops have contributed significantly in uplifting the economy of farmers with an annual production 2471 thousand tones (t) and average productivity of 5.14 t/ha (Indian Horticulture Database, 2010). Among multiple pests that ravage these crops (Insects viz. scale, woolly aphid, mites, thrips, and rodents and mite etc.), Acarina (Phytophagous mites) is a cosmopolitan group with wide host range, these phytophagous mites cause biotic stress to its host plant and adversely affect the marketable produce causing losses to growers. Integrated mite management is one eco-friendly measure that can be implemented to keep these mites under control, which includes cultural control, use of mite and insect predators, botanicals/bio-pesticides, fungi, bacteria and virus play an important role in managing mite population in various horticultural crops.