Abstract
Low humidity levels are assumed to be an important limiting factor for biological control of spider mites by phytoseiid predatory mites, mainly because of the vulnerability of the egg stage for drought. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of several species of phythoseiid predatory mites for control of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch at low(55%) and high (80%) humidity levels on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions. In the preventive trial,the best control was achieved by Neoseiulus californicus McGregor at both humidity levels.Spider mites were completely eradicated. None of the other species of predatory mites was able to reduce spider mite densities, except Transeius montdorensis (Schicha) at the low humidity level. In the curative trial, N. californicus was again the best performing predatory mite,together with Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot. Spider mites were completely controlled at both humidity levels by these species. This suggests that low humidity levels during daytime do not necessarily disrupt the control of spider mites by these predators, possibly because of the humidity fluctuations between day and night. Humidity did also directly affect spider mites;densities were up to 3 times higher on plants in the greenhouse with low humidity levels than on plants with a high humidity level. This increased growth rate of spider mites at low humidity levels may be another explanation for the failure of spider mite control in practice. Yet, in order to enhance the biological control of spider mites at low humidity levels, it might be better to focus on methods that support the establishment of effective spider mite predators, rather than selecting drought adapted strains of predatory mites.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Neoseiulus californicus gave the best control of spider mites at both humidity levels in the preventive trial.
- Taxon
- cucumber
Cucumis sativuse5 - Treatment
- Neoseiulus californicus McGregore1
- Interactor
- Tetranychus urticae
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Tetranychus urticaee0pest - Second interactor
- Neoseiulus californicus McGregor
Neoseiulus californicuse1biocontrol_agent - Outcome
- best controle1
- Direction
- beste1
- Qualifier
- at both humidity levelse1
- Setting
- greenhousee5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch at low(55%) and high (80%) humidity levels”
e1“the best control was achieved by Neoseiulus californicus McGregor at both humidity levels”
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
Claim · model-written summary
Spider mites were completely eradicated by Neoseiulus californicus in the preventive trial.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- Neoseiulus californicus McGregore1
- Interactor
- Tetranychus urticaeTetranychus urticaee0pest
- Outcome
- Spider mitese2
- Direction
- completely eradicatede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch at low(55%) and high (80%) humidity levels”
e1“the best control was achieved by Neoseiulus californicus McGregor at both humidity levels”
e2“Spider mites were completely eradicated”
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
Claim · model-written summary
None of the other predatory mite species reduced spider mite densities in the preventive trial, except as noted for T. montdorensis.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- other species of predatory mitese3
- Outcome
- spider mite densitiese3
- Direction
- reducee3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“None of the other species of predatory mites was able to reduce spider mite densities”
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
Claim · model-written summary
Transeius montdorensis reduced spider mite densities at the low humidity level in the preventive trial.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- Transeius montdorensis (Schicha)e4
- Interactor
- Tetranychus urticaeTetranychus urticaee0pest
- Second interactor
- Transeius montdorensis (Schicha)Transeius montdorensise4biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- spider mite densitiese3
- Direction
- reducee3
- Qualifier
- at the low humidity levele4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch at low(55%) and high (80%) humidity levels”
e3“None of the other species of predatory mites was able to reduce spider mite densities”
e4“except Transeius montdorensis (Schicha) at the low humidity level”
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
Claim · model-written summary
Neoseiulus californicus was again the best performing predatory mite in the curative trial.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- N. californicuse6
- Interactor
- N. californicusNeoseiulus californicuse6biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- best performing predatory mitee6
- Direction
- best performinge6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
e6“N. californicus was again the best performing predatory mite”
Claim · model-written summary
Phytoseiulus persimilis, with N. californicus, completely controlled spider mites at both humidity levels in the curative trial.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriote7
- Interactor
- Tetranychus urticaeTetranychus urticaee0pest
- Second interactor
- Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot
Phytoseiulus persimilise7biocontrol_agent - Outcome
- Spider mitese6
- Direction
- completely controllede6
- Qualifier
- at both humidity levelse6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch at low(55%) and high (80%) humidity levels”
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
e7“together with Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot”
e6“Spider mites were completely controlled at both humidity levels by these species”
Claim · model-written summary
Spider mite densities were up to 3 times higher on plants with low humidity than on plants with high humidity in the greenhouse.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- low humidity levelse6
- Interactor
- spider mitesTetranychidaee7pest
- Outcome
- densitiese6
- Direction
- highere6
- Value
- up to 3 timese6
- Comparator
- high humidity levele6
- Setting
- greenhousee6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
e6“densities were up to 3 times higher on plants in the greenhouse with low humidity levels than on plants with a high humidity level”
e7“Humidity did also directly affect spider mites”
Claim · model-written summary
Methods that support the establishment of effective spider mite predators should be preferred over selecting drought-adapted predatory mite strains.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Outcome
- focus on methods that support the establishment of effective spider mite predatorse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
e6“it might be better to focus on methods that support the establishment of effective spider mite predators, rather than selecting drought adapted strains of predatory mites”
Claim · model-written summary
Low humidity levels during daytime do not necessarily disrupt spider mite control by these predators.
- Taxon
- cucumberCucumis sativuse5
- Treatment
- low humidity levels during daytimee6
- Outcome
- control of spider mitese6
- Direction
- do not necessarily disrupte6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“on greenhouse cucumber in two greenhouse trials where predators were released either before or after spider mite introductions”
e6“low humidity levels during daytime do not necessarily disrupt the control of spider mites by these predators”
The same questions in other papers
Neoseiulus californicus · Tetranychus urticae · Cucumis sativus (cucumber)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
Phytoseiulus persimilis · Tetranychus urticae · Cucumis sativus (cucumber)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.