Level of infestation and occurrence of the european red mite in apple cultivars Gala and Fuji

Abstract

This study aimed to verify the level of infestation and time of occurrence of the european red mite
(Panonychus ulmi) on ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apples. The study was carried out in a conventional apple orchard system at Epagri/Caçador Experiment Station, SC, Brazil. Samplings were done fortnightly, during the vegetative period, from November 2005 to December 2006. At each sampling date, a 100 leaves sample per cultivar was collected
up by taking 10 leaves per tree, in 10 randomly selected trees. On ‘Fuji’, the european red mite was present all the time during the vegetative growth, while on ‘Gala’ it was absent in November and December 2006. The mean counts on ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’, respectively, were 2.78 and 14.24 eggs/leaf, 0.37 and 1 immature/leaf and 0.49
and 1.15 adult/leaf. The european red mite was more present and abundant on ‘Fuji’ leaves.