Diversity of spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) infesting fruit crops in Kerala, India
1Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Agricultural University, 2Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, 3Department of Fruit Science, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Agricultural University. Corresponding e-mail: neena.lenin@kau.in
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2025.v27i03.86
Full text PDF The study was undertaken at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Department of Entomology, investigates the faunal diversity of spider mites in Kerala’s fruit crop ecosystem. In this study, collection and identification of spider mites that affect fruit crops was done through field surveys at different locations throughout Kerala. A total of 15 tetranychid species from five genera were collected from 12 different fruit crops, with the genus Tetranychus Dufour being the most abundant and the host plant banana recording the highest number of spider mites. Significant findings include the identification of new host plants for certain mite species, such as Tetranychus fijiensis Hirst, Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker and Pritchard and Eutetranychus orientalis Klein on jackfruit, Tetranychus truncatus Ehara on passion fruit, Tetranychus udaipurensis Gupta and Gupta on banana and papaya. A taxonomic key to spider mite species identified during the study has been given in the work adding insights into host specificity, contributing valuable information on spider mite infestation in Kerala’s fruit science sector.
