Keywords
Abstract
Phytophagous mites annually cause significant damage to commercial fruit crops, the most damaged of which is the apple tree. Repeated use of chemical preparations in protection against pests does not only exert pesticide pressure on agrocenosis, but also affects the ecosystem of fruit plantings, replacing one species with others, influencing biodiversity, reducing the number of helpful arthropods and causing the emergence of pesticide-resistant mite races. The aim of the research was to develop and test the system of protecting intensive apple orchards of Krasnogvardeisky and Nizhnegorsky districts of the Republic of Crimea
from mites of Tetranychidae family - hawthorn mite Amphitetranychus viennensis (Zacher), European red mite Panonychus ulmi (Koch) with the help of predatory phytoseiidae mites Phytoseiulus persimilis (Athias-Henriot), Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) and Amblyseius andersoni (Chant). In-process system tests were carried out in 2019–2020 on plots where in 2015–2018 the acarocomplex was formed using methods of population development and seasonal colonization. After the acarocomplex formation, an assessment of its resistance to toxic effect of plant protecting agents used in farms was carried out. The studies confirmed
that the acarocomplex of predatory mites developed in three years allowed to reduce the number of diapausing females of A. viennensis by 87% and the pest population density in the summer period, to prevent outbreak of phytophagous population in the spring period of 2019–2020. It was proven that pyrethroid class preparation with the active ingredient tau-fluvalinat reduced the number of predators by 99%. Partial recovery of the population density due to the migration of native species of predators was
observed in 2–3 months. Outbreak of the number of phytophagous mites on the plots where the acarocomplex of predatory mites was developed was due to the use of toxic preparations and the appearance of resistant to acaricides phytophagous mite races.