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Release and establishment of predatory mites for the sustainable control of spider mites in hops
Project
Project code: 2812NA014
Contract period: 01.05.2013
- 31.05.2016
Budget: 171,944 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
In the course of a three-year research project from 2013 to 2015, the release and es-tablishment of predatory mites for the control of two-spotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae, was conducted in five hop gardens of the Bavarian ‘Hallertau’ hop growing region. The species compared were the autochthonous mites (a) Typhlodromus pyri, (b) Amblyseius andersoni and (c) a mix of the two allochthonous species Neoseiulus californicus and Phytoseiulus persimilis. Main objective of the project was the establishment of a permanent population of T. pyri in a hop garden by providing the predators with structures for their hibernation by undersown crops. We chose seedings of tall fescue Festuca arundinacea, a grassland seed mixture (BQDSM-2a) and strawberries as an intercrop in the wheel lanes. During the three project years, 15 trials were conducted of which however only two yielded meaningful results. We found that the cheapest and most effective way to release T. pyri in hops is the transfer of vine cuttings gathered during the pruning of vines in late winter. Besides, the mixture of P. persimilis und N. californicus proved to be very effective. During samplings of the undersown crop of tall fescue in spring 2015 and 2016, predatory mites were recorded in low numbers. This is evidence that tall fescue can serve as a hibernation quarter for predatory mites. More studies are however needed to give more detailed answers to this thematic constellation.
Section overview
Subjects
- Crop Protection
- Specialised crops
Framework programme
Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN)
