CEPAVE   05420
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS PARASITOLOGICOS Y DE VECTORES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Host-plants acceptance and performance of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae).
Autor/es:
GRECO, N.; P. PEREYRA; A. GUILLADE
Revista:
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
Editorial:
Blackwell Publishing
Referencias:
Año: 2006 vol. 130 p. 32 - 36
ISSN:
0044-2240
Resumen:
Tetranychus urticae is a serious pest of several crops worldwide. It performs differentially on diverse hostplant species. Because dispersion is mainly passive, the process of host-plant selection should be viewed in terms of host-plant acceptance and not in terms of host finding. The objectives of this study were to investigate: (1) the acceptance of strawberry (S) in comparison with onion (O), leek (L) and parsley (P) by T. urticae; and (2) the suitability of these host plants for the performance of T. urticae, in terms of fecundity and survival. Host-plant acceptance was measured through females that settled on a test plant or females that left for another host plant. In another experiment, for a duration of 5 days, individual newly mated females were assigned to discs of each host plant and the fecundity, the maximum number of offspring obtained from one female that settled on the disc, the survival and the percentage of females that oviposited at least one egg were analysed. A choice test to measure the preference of females for different host plants was performed. Movements took place towards (S) from the three plants: (O), (L) and (P). Mites significantly moved to other places in the Petri dishes from leek-origin discs. Dispersal of T. urticae from (S) to other host-plant discs was similar for all plants. Mean fecundity was higher on (S) than on the other plants. The maximumnumber of offspring per female was highest on (S), lowest on (L) and (O), and intermediate on (P). Survival of females and percentage of females that laid at least one egg were independent of the host plant. The choice test showed that oviposition was higher on (S) and (P) and very poor on (L) and (O) and that more females settled on (S) and (P). Although mites migrated from parsley to strawberry, the first host plant has a higher acceptance of T. urticae in terms of maximum number of offspring per female than onion and leek, and a lower performance in terms of fecundity than strawberry. Parsley could be a good candidate for an associate plant in a strawberry crop; however, it needs more research under field conditions.