Abstract

CERNA, E et al. Life table of Oligonychus punicae Hirst (Acari: Tetranychidae) in avocado leaves (Persea americana Mill) in the hass, fuerte and criollo cultivars. Universidad y ciencia [online]. 2009, vol.25, n.2, pp.133-140. ISSN 0186-2979.

The principal life parameters (Ro, rm, TG, t and λ) of Oligonychus punicae (Hirst) were determined. This is a fruit eating mite found on the Hass, Fuerte and Criollo avocado (Persea americana Mill) cultivars. The population parameters of each cultivar were obtained following Birch's (1948) method. An experimental colony of O. punicae was established from populations collected from avocado fields in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico. The mites were grown on bean seedlings at 24 ± 2 °C, 65% relative humidity and a 12:12 h photoperiod. The biological material was handled according to the Abou-Setta & Childers technique (1987), known as the leaf-sand technique. Fifty pregnant females of the stock colony were transferred to leaves of the three cultivars, and were kept in a bio-climatic chamber under the same conditions of temperature, relative humidity and photoperiod. The time of development was 7.74, 7.78 and 9.54 days on average for the Fuerte, Hass and Criollo cultivars respectively. The average fecundity rate per female was of 4.05, 2.86 and 4.38 eggs per day (e/F/d) for the three cultivars respectively. The Ro, rm and λ population parameters in general showed a greater potential of population growth on the Hass cultivar (25.81, 0.2214 y 1.24), followed by the Fuerte (11.96, 0.1624 y 1.17) and the Criollo (10.78, 0.1485 and 1.16). In the case of the TG and t population parameters, the situation was similar. The Hass cultivar presented the fastest development rate and the population doubled at 14.68 and 3.13 days, respectively; while the results on the Fuerte and Criollo cultivars were of 15.28 and 4.27, and 16.01 and 4.67, respectively.

Keywords : Avocado brown mite; life tables; population parameters.

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