Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Mini Reviews

Vol. 1 No. 3 (2014)

Smart-use of fertilizers to manage spider mites (Acari: Tetrachynidae) and other arthropod pests

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.2014.1.3.56
Submitted
12 May 2014
Published
19-08-2014

Abstract

Fertilizers are utilized to increase productivity through improved crop growth and yield potential. However, steady declining availability of synthetic fertilizers is becoming a growing concern to the World’s food production industry. At the same time, there is increasing evidence that non-optimal (not applied at the right time and either at too high or too low dosages) applications of fertilizers may adversely affect the biochemical, physiological and morphological characteristics of crop plants, which in turn can adversely influence their resistance and/or increase their host suitability to pests. In this mini review, we discuss studies of spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) and their natural enemies to argue that, as part of a precision agriculture approach with temporally and spatially targeted applications, there is clear justification for more applied and basic research into smart-use of fertilizers as part of crop protection and research into “plant medicine”.

References

  1. Abdel-Galil, F. A., Amro, M. A. M., & Abdel-Moniem, A. H. (2008). Effect of drought stress on the incidence of certain arthropod pests and predators inhabiting cowpea plantations. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, 40, 207-214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03235400500424570
  2. Altieri, M. A., & Nicholls, C. I. (2003). Soil fertility management and insect pests: harmonizing soil and plant health in agroecosystems. Soil & Tillage Research, 72, 203-211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(03)00089-8
  3. Amtmann, A., Troufflard, S., & Armengaud, P. (2008). The effect of potassium nutrition on pest and disease resistance in plants. Physiologia Plantarum, 133, 682-691. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2008.01075.x PMid:18331404
  4. Chen, Y., Opit, G. P., Jonas, V. M., Williams, K. A., Nechols, J. R., & Margolies, D. C. (2007). Two spotted spider mite population level, distribution, and damage on ivy geranium in response to different nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization regimes. Journal of Economic Entomology, 100(6), 1821-1830. http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493(2007)100[1821:TSMPLD]2.0.CO;2
  5. Chow, A., Chau, A., & Heinz, K. M. (2009). Reducing Fertilization for Cut Roses: Effect on Crop Productivity and Two spotted Spider Mite Abundance, Distribution, and Management. Journal of Economic Entomology, 102(5), 1896-1907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/029.102.0521
  6. Culliney, T. W., & Pimentel, D. (1986). Ecological effects of organic agricultural practices on insect populations. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 15(4), 253-266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0167-8809(86)90124-6
  7. Garman, P., & Kennedy, B. H. (1949). Effect of soil fertilization on the rate of reproduction of the two-spotted spider mite. Journal of Economic Entomology, 42(1), 157-158.
  8. Gerson, U., & Weintraub, P. G. (2012). Mites (Acari) as a factor in greenhouse management. Annual Review of Entomology, 57, 229–247. PMid:21910634 http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120710-100639
  9. Grbic, M., Van Leeuwen, T., Clark, R. M., Rombauts, S., Rouze, P., Grbic, V., ... Van de Peer, Y. (2011). The genome of Tetranychus urticae reveals herbivorous pest adaptations. Nature, 479(7374), 487-492. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature10640
  10. Haseman, L. (1950). Controlling insect pests through their nutritional requirements. Journal of Economic Entomology, 43, 399-401.
  11. Helle, W., & Overmeer, W. P. J. (1973). Variability in tetranychid mites. Annual Review of Entomology, 18, 97-120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.18.010173.000525
  12. Huberty, A. F., & Denno, R. F. (2004). Plant water stress and its consequence for herbivorous insects: a new synthesis. Ecology, 85, 1383-1398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/03-0352
  13. Klubertanz, T. H., Pedigo, L. P., & Carlson, R. E. (1990). Effects of plant moisture stress and rainfall on population dynamics of the two-spotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae). Environmental Entomology, 19, 1773–1779.
  14. Machado, S., Bynum, E. D. J., Archer, T. L., Lascano, R. J., Wilson, L. T., Bordovsky, J., ... Xu, W. (2000). Spatial and temporal variability of corn grain yield: site-specific relationships of biotic and abiotic factors. Precision Agriculture, 2(4), 359–376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1012352032031
  15. Martini, X., Kincy, N., Vaughn, K., Dever, J., & Nansen, C. (2013). Positive association between thrips and spider mites in seedling cotton. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 15(5), 197-203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/afe.12004
  16. Nansen, C., & Ridsdill-Smith, T. J. (2013). The performance of insecticides – a critical review. In S. Trdan (Ed.), Insecticides (pp. 195-232). Croatia: InTech Europe.
  17. Nansen, C., Sidumo, A. J., Martini, X., Stefanova, K., & Roberts, J. D. (2013). Reflectance-based assessment of spider mite "bio-response" to maize leaves and plant potassium content in different irrigation regimes. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 97, 21-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2013.06.007
  18. Perrenoud, S. (1990). Potassium and plant health (Vol. 3). Basel, Switzerland: International Potash Institute.
  19. Perring, T. M., Holtzer, T. O., Toole, J. L., & Norman, J. L. (1986). Relationships between corn-canopy microenvironments and Banks grass mite abundance. Environmental Entomology, 15, 79-83.
  20. Prager, S. M., Martini, X., Guvvala, H., Nansen, C., & Lundgren, J. G. (2014). Spider mite infestations reduce Bacillus thuringiensis toxin concentration in corn leaves and predators avoid spider mites that have fed on Bacillus thuringiensis corn. Annals of Applied Biology, 165, 108-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aab.12120
  21. Rodriguez, J. G. (1951). Mineral nutrition of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus bimaculatus Harvey. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 44(4), 511-526.
  22. Rodriguez, J. G., & Neiswander, R. B. (1949). The effect of soil soluble salts and cultural practices on mite populations on hothouse tomatoes. Journal of Economic Entomology, 42, 511-526.
  23. Shimer, H. (1868). Notes on the "Apple bark-louse" (Lepidosaphes conchiformis, Gmelin) with a description of a supposed new Acaris. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 1, 361–374.
  24. Stiefel, V. L., Margolies, D. C., & Bramel-Cox, P. J. (1992). Leaf temperature affects resistance to the Banks grass mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) on drought-resistant grain sorghum. Journal of Economic Entomology, 85, 2170-2184.
  25. Toole, J., Norman, L. J., Holtzer, M. T. O., & Perring, T. M. (1984). Simulating Banks grass mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) population dynamics as a subsystem of a crop canopy-microenvironment model. Environmental Entomology, 13, 329-337.
  26. Walde, S. J. (1995). How quality of host plant affects a predator-prey interaction in biological control. Ecology, 76(4), 1206-1219. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940927
  27. Zehnder, G., Gurr, G. M., Kühne, S., Wade, M. R., Wratten, S. D., & Wyss, E. (2007). Arthropod Pest Management in Organic Crops. Annual Review of Entomology, 52(1), 57-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091337.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.