Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Evaluation of Natural and Factitious Food Sources for Pronematus Ubiquitus on Tomato Plants

Marcus V. A. Duarte
* ORCID logo ,
Dominiek Vangansbeke
,
Juliette Pijnakker
,
Rob Moerkens
,
Alfredo Benavente
,
Yves Arijs
,
Ana Lizbeth Flores Saucedo
,
Felix Wackers
Version 1 : Received: 10 November 2021 / Approved: 12 November 2021 / Online: 12 November 2021 (11:20:39 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Duarte, M.V.A.; Vangansbeke, D.; Pijnakker, J.; Moerkens, R.; Benavente, A.; Arijs, Y.; Saucedo, A.L.F.; Wäckers, F. Evaluation of Natural and Factitious Food Sources for Pronematus ubiquitus on Tomato Plants. Insects 2021, 12, 1111. Duarte, M.V.A.; Vangansbeke, D.; Pijnakker, J.; Moerkens, R.; Benavente, A.; Arijs, Y.; Saucedo, A.L.F.; Wäckers, F. Evaluation of Natural and Factitious Food Sources for Pronematus ubiquitus on Tomato Plants. Insects 2021, 12, 1111.

Abstract

Pronematus ubiquitus (McGregor) is a small iolinid mite that is capable of establishing on tomato plants. Once established, this mite has been shown to control both tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici (Tryon) (Acari: Eriophyidae) and tomato powdery mildew (Oidium neolycopersici L. Kiss). In the present study, we explored the nutritional value of various food sources in the laboratory. First, we assessed the reproduction of two food sources that P. ubiquitus can encounter on a tomato crop: tomato pollen and powdery mildew. In a second laboratory experiment, we evaluated the nutritional value of two types of prey mites: the astigmatid Carpoglyphus lactis L. (Acari: Carpoglyphidae) and the tarsonemid Tarsonemus fusarii (Acari: Tarsonemidae). Powdery mildew and C. lactis did not contribute to the reproduction, whereas tomato pollen and T. fusarii did allow egg-laying. However, Typha angustifolia pollen was a superior food source in both experiments. In a greenhouse trial on individual caged tomato plants, we evaluated the impact of pollen supplementation frequency on establishment of P. ubiquitus. Here, a pollen addition frequency of every other week was required to allow populations of P. ubiquitus to establish.

Keywords

Biological control; alternative food; Tydeidae; mites

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Insect Science

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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