Sucking pests, such as red spider mites, pear leaf blister mites and plum rust mites, are often affecting fruit trees and cause extensive damage to the fruits.
Solution
Using the predatory mite Typhlodromus pyri can be a successful biological control solution for these sucking pests.
Description
After the introduction of predatory mites, trees are healthier and more vigorous. They flower regularly and produce fruits with better flavour.
Practical recommendations
• Introduce predatory mites to trees, specifically the predatory mite Typhlodromus pyri (Picture 1), to all types of fruit trees (pith and stone fruit trees).
• Introduce Typhlodromus pyri using felt strips in which this predatory mite overwinters (Picture 2).
• Place felt strips on tree branches in winter, preferably in early spring when it is still cold, and Typhlodromus pyri is not yet active (Picture 3) and secure with an office stapler.
• Store the felt strips at a low temperature before use, for example, in a refrigerator, to avoid waking the mites up prematurely from hibernation.
• Apply one strip per tree. If the branches of the trees overlap, the mite will climb over to reach the other tree.
• A minimum number of ten individuals of the predatory mite per felt strip.
• The population of Typhlodromus pyri increases rapidly in the spring when temperatures increase. The mites begin to multiply and feed on pest eggs and larvae
• Expect better results in the second year after release, when the predatory mite has multiplied sufficiently.
• Introduction of Typhlodromus pyri is recommended into orchards with plastic covers where micro-conditions are favourable for the reproduction of sucking pests, and their occurrence is there often higher.
• Apply Typhlodromus pyri only once; they remain on the trees for decades and suppress pests for the lifetime of the trees.
In order to use the comment function, you must register with the third-party provider "Disqus".
When you activate this function, your browser establishes a direct connection with the servers of the third-party provider. We would like to point out that data is transmitted to the third-party provider after activation, and the latter may set cookies that can also be used for analysis and marketing purposes. For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.
Disqus
In order to use the comment function, you must register with the third-party provider "Disqus".
When you activate this function, your browser establishes a direct connection with the servers of the third-party provider. We would like to point out that data is transmitted to the third-party provider after activation, and the latter may set cookies that can also be used for analysis and marketing purposes. For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.
Activate