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Efficacy of biocontrol of the yellow tea thrips and the Kanzawa spider mite with the generalist phytoseiid mite Euseius sojaensis differs between grape cultivars with different leaf morphological traits

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Abstract

Euseius sojaensis (Ehara) is an effective indigenous predator of multiple arthropod pests in orchards in Japan. Population increases of this generalist phytoseiid mite correspond to those of the most important vineyard pest, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood. However, the efficacy of biocontrol by it had not been evaluated. Here, we examined the biocontrol of S. dorsalis and Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida by E. sojaensis on two table grape cultivars, less hairy cultivar ‘Pione’ and hairy cultivar ‘Shine Muscat’. In greenhouse experiments, phytoseiid populations were larger, pest populations were smaller, and the incidence of fruit injury caused by S. dorsalis was significantly lower in E. sojaensis-release plots than in no-release plots. Densities of S. dorsalis larvae and T. kanzawai and the incidence of fruit injury were higher in hairy cultivar than in less hairy cultivar. These results suggest that E. sojaensis can control S. dorsalis and T. kanzawai populations simultaneously, but to different degrees between the cultivars. In laboratory experiments, E. sojaensis consumed fewer pests on leaf discs of hairy cultivar than on those of less hairy cultivar. The greater trichome density may hinder these large phytoseiid mites and thus reduce biocontrol efficacy. The interactions among phytoseiid mites and pests via plant leaf structure need to be clarified for successful biological control.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Hidenari Kishimoto of the NARO Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science for his advice on the identification of phytoseiid species.

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  1. Fruit Tree Research Center, Shizuoka Prefectural Research Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, Shimizu, Shizuoka, 424-0101, Japan

    Yuta Tsuchida & Shinichi Masui

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  1. Yuta Tsuchida
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  2. Shinichi Masui
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YT and SM conceived and designed the experiments. YT performed the experiments. YT analyzed the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SM commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yuta Tsuchida.

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Tsuchida, Y., Masui, S. Efficacy of biocontrol of the yellow tea thrips and the Kanzawa spider mite with the generalist phytoseiid mite Euseius sojaensis differs between grape cultivars with different leaf morphological traits. BioControl 68, 425–434 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-023-10201-w

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