SUITABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE FOOD FOR Amblyseius herbicolus TO PROMOTE BROAD MITE CONTROL IN CHILLI PEPPER PLANTS

Abstract

Many omnivores arthropods are important natural enemies in agricultural systems. These organisms feed on both plant material and prey. Omnivores have an advantage over natural enemies that are strictly carnivorous, by exploring plant based food sources they are able to persist longer in the crop. Pollens from many plants, as well as herbivores, are considered good alternative food sources for predators. These alternative foods can be used to increase the biological controL by maintaining and incrementing the populations of natural enemies Chilli pepper is a very important culture in developing countries, such as Brazil where the state of Minas Gerais it's main producer. The broad mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus is considered a serious pest of Chilli pepper plants. Amblyseius herbicolus is a predator frequently found in Chilli-pepper infested with broad mites and has already shown its potential to control broad mites. In the present work we studied the quality of different alternative foods (honeybee pollen, Typha sp. pollen, and the prey Tetranychus urticae) for A. herbicolus. We also evaluated how these alternative foods can influence the biological control of the broad mite by A. herbicolus. The attraction from A. herbicolus to Chilli pepper plants with honeybee pollen or Chilli pepper flowers was also accessed. Amblyseius herbicolus had the highest oviposition when it feed on pollen and the population growth was higher when it fed on honeybee pollen or pollen from chilli pepper plants and consequently causing a higher reduction of broad population. Neither honeybee pollen nor chilli pepper were attractive to A. herbicolus. Since no attraction to honeybee or chilli pepper flower, the release of the A. herbicolus in younger plants along with honeybee pollen seems like a viable strategy to maintain this predator protecting the plant from broad mites. Since flowers were an equally good source as honeybee pollen for A. herbicolus the supplementation of this pollen can be ceased once the plants start to produce flowers and the flowers alone can maintain predators and reduce broad mite population.