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

Katrina West; Christian Nansen

doi:10.14719/pst.2014.1.3.56

Authors

Katrina West The University of Western Australia
Christian Nansen The University of Western Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.2014.1.3.56

Keywords:

integrated pest management, spider mites, potassium, nitrogen, natural enemies

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”.

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Author Biographies

Katrina West, The University of Western Australia

Researcher at the University of Western Australia, School of Animal Biology, The UWA Institute of Agriculture, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009

Christian Nansen, The University of Western Australia

Working at the University of Western Australia, School of Animal Biology, The UWA Institute of Agriculture, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia & State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology on the Arid Areas, and Key Laboratory of Northwest Loess Plateau Crop Pest Management of Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

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