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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #363626
Research Project: Integrated Orchard Management and Automation for Deciduous Tree Fruit Crops (BRIDGE PROJECT)

Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection

Title: UV-C irradiation technology for two-spotted spider mite control

Author
item Short, Brent
item Janisiewicz, Wojciech
item Takeda, Fumiomi
item Leskey, Tracy

Submitted to: North American Strawberry Conference Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2018
Publication Date: 1/24/2019
Citation: Short, B.D., Janisiewicz, W.J., Takeda, F., Leskey, T.C. 2019. UV-C irradiation technology for two-spotted spider mite control. North American Strawberry Conference Abstracts. p. 22.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) is a major strawberry pest. Here, we present a non-chemical technology for management of TSSM with a nightly, short-duration ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation treatment. Potted ‘Chandler’ strawberry plants were infested with 100 TSSM (adult and immature) and allowed to settle for 48 h. Half of the plants were then irradiated nightly (60-s exposure) for four weeks with four 55-W UV-C lamps. After four weeks, irradiated plants had few live mites (<5) compared to >175 on untreated control plants. Also, 65% of untreated plants were webbed and mite feeding caused yellowing of the leaves, while none of the UV-C treated plants had mite webbing. The UV-C reduced the mite population below the accepted economic threshold. No injury due to UV-C irradiation was visible. Night-time application of UV-C is a promising technology for the development of environmentally friendly strawberry production.