Study: Mighty Mite Might Be Big Benefit For Florida Cucumber Crop
December 17, 2015 UF/IFAS researchers might possibly have found a tiny solution to a big problem.
Photo by Steven Arthurs
According to a newly published study, a predatory mite (Amblyseius swirskii) likes to feed on Thrips palmi, a serious pest of cucumbers and other vegetable crops in South Florida.
This finding may help growers not only better protect their crops, but also potentially save millions of dollars on pesticide inputs.
“It will take some time for growers to be trained to use biological control agents in the field for maximum benefits,” said Garima Kakkar, who spearheaded the study as part of her master’s thesis when she was a graduate student at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. She is now a post-doctoral research associate at the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka.
For the study, published in the journal Biological Control, UF/IFAS researchers conducted a trial to investigate if certain mites would control T. palmi. Kakkar reviewed the Swirski mite and Neoseiulus cucumeris to see if they could control the thrips and keep them from harming cucumbers in a laboratory, a field, and in a shadehouse. She found A. swirskii effectively controlled melon thrips.
In addition, A. swirskii can control many thrips and other pests including whiteflies, broad mites, and spider mites on a number of crops.
Kakkar’s findings could prove critical for Florida’s cucumber industry. At $125 million, Florida accounts for 37% of the national market value of cucumbers.
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