Mites

Abstract

Mites are the smallest organism that belongs to phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, subclass Acari and order Acarina. Mites occur worldwide and affect human life directly or indirectly. Acari are rich in diversity. Mites occupy every habitat of life. Plant-feeding mites or phytophagous mites attack almost all cultivated crops, ornamental crops and wild plants, thus reducing the yield of cultivated crops drastically and, besides this, serving as vectors for several plant diseases. In agriculture, the problem of phytophagous mites became intense after the introduction and large-scale use of pesticides during the last few decades. This pesticide effectively controlled the insect pests against which they were used but also destroyed the natural enemies of phytophagous mites. In the absence of the insects for competition for food and other necessities and coupled with elimination of natural enemies such as parasites and predators, the phytophagous mite populations increased to enormous proportions and posed greater problems in addition to the development of resistance and resurgence problems as well as toxic residues. Further, mite species which were never seen earlier have become important pests (e.g. coconut eriophyid mite).