Monitoring and management of Aceria litchii (Acari: Eriophyidae) in lychee orchard in São Paulo

Abstract

Abstract Aceria litchii (Keifer) is considered one of the main pest of lychee, and can severely compromise the fruit production. The research was conducted with the objective of evaluating some strategies for the management of A. litchii and the associated erinose on lychee plants. The study was carried out in a commercial lychee orchard in Botucatu County, state of São Paulo, Brazil, using the following treatments: 1) Bordeaux mixture + lime sulfur; 2) Release of predatory mites (Neoseiulus californicus) + lime sulfur; 3) Lime sulfur (grower standard). Lychee leaf samples were collected monthly to evaluate the diversity of phytophagous (Eriophyidae) and predatory (Phytoseiidae) mites, and evaluate the population fluctuation of the most abundant mite species. We also evaluated the percentage of leaves with symptoms of erinose in shoots of lychee plants, for the different treatments. Phytoseius woodburyi De Leon (82.8%), Amblyseius herbicolus (Chant) (11.2%) and Amblyseius compositus Denmark & Muma (3.2%) were the most abundant species of predatory mites (Phytoseiidae) observed on the lychee plants. A significant correlation was observed between the population densities of A. litchii and P. woodburyi, indicating that this predatory mite represents an important natural enemy of the erinose mite. The use of the Bordeaux mixture and lime sulfur showed a significant effect in reducing the incidence of erinose and establishment of the pest mite in lychee orchard. The release of N. californicus contributed significantly to the reduction of the population density of A. litchii, as well as the percentage of leaves with erinose, in lychee plants.