Iranian Journal of Plant Protection Science

Iranian Journal of Plant Protection Science

Biology and Life Table Parameters of Strawberry Spider Mite, Tetranychus turkestani Studied on Three Cucurbit Host Plants

Authors
Abstract
Biology of strawberry spider mite, Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov& Nikolski was studied on cucumber, courgette and melon under laboratory conditions (30±1oC, 70±5% RH and 14:10 L: D). The mean female immature developmental times on cucumber, courgette and melon were recorded as 7.73±0.14, 8.27±0.24 and 9.54±0.36 days respectively. The values of immature death rate were 42.31, 48.93 and 63.63% on the same three host plants. The average female life spans were estimated 5.78±0.51, 5.41±0.81 and 7.53±0.61 days on the same host plants. Mean daily egg counts were 3.31±0.61, 2.28±0.38 and 1.09±0.32 while mean total egg counts were recorded as 32.81±3.88, 18.5±4.56 and 14.04±2.35 eggs on the same named host plants. Mean sex ratios (female %) were 69, 85 and 78% on cucumber, courgette and melon, respectively. Intrinsic rate of increase (rm) were 0.272±0.01, 0.183±0.02 and 0.125±0.01 on the mentioned host plants. Based upon the biological characteristics and life table parameters, cucumber was found as the most suitable host for growth and reproduction of T. turkestani.
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