Monitoring the Bud Mite Pest in a Hazelnut Orchard of Central Italy: Do Plant Height and Irrigation Influence the Infestation Level?

oleh: Mario Contarini, Luca Rossini, Nicolò Di Sora, Enrico de Lillo, Stefano Speranza

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-08-01

Deskripsi

Mite pests are a serious threat for hazelnut cultivations, causing economic losses every year. At least two species of big bud mites, <i>Phytoptus avellanae</i> (Acari: Phytoptidae) and <i>Cecidophyopsis vermiformis</i> (Acari: Eriophyidae), are involved in severe hazelnut bud infestations, even though few studies report <i>P. avellanae</i> as the most present and harmful. Great steps forward have been made in monitoring and management strategies of these mite pests, but a plethora of questions remains unanswered about their ecology and behaviour and how agronomical practices impact populations. Given this precondition, we conducted a four-year monitoring in an experimental hazelnut orchard located in the Viterbo hazelnut district, Central Italy, to: (i) explore the potential effect that irrigation has on mite infestations, (ii) assess if mites locate in a particular band height of hazelnut plants; and (iii) assess the overall field infestation over the years. This study showed that not-irrigated plants and plants irrigated by underground pipe systems were similarly infested. Mites tend to locate in the middle band of the plant, namely from 1.5 to 3 m from the ground. The four-year survey showed an overall increasing infestation trend, with a peak in 2021 for irrigated plants and 2022 for not-irrigated. These results are a milestone for further exploration of the biology and ecology of this pest and to formulate ad hoc monitoring and control strategies as well.