Sampling plan of Tetranychus mexicanus on passion fruit vines

Abstract

Sampling plans are essential components to establish decision-making systems for integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Thus, this study was aimed to develop a conventional sampling plan of Tetranychus mexicanus (McGregor) (Tetranychidae) on the yellow passion fruit Passiflora edulis. The work was conducted in nine passion fruit fields with plants at the reproductive stage. Our results indicated that the sample, ideal area, and the technique for the evaluation of the mites in passion fruit were the second and third most apical leaves on the branches, the leaf blade on the abaxial surface near the petiole, and the directly counting the mites using a hand lens with 10× magnification, respectively. The density of T. mexicanus was adjusted to a negative binomial frequency distribution, and they present a common aggregation parameter (K_common = 0.5176), which made it possible to generate a sampling plan. The sampling plan consisted of 52 samples per field that took 39 minutes, and the cost of US $6.73 per sampling, respectively. Thus, the sampling plan developed in this study can be used by farmers in management programs for T. mexicanus in passion fruit crops by facilitating the accurate, representative and feasible sampling of this pest at the plant.

Keywords:

• Passion fruit mite
• Passiflora eduli
• sampling technique
• statistical distribution
• integrated pest management

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Hamilton Gomes de Oliveira (Institute of Ecology INECOL, Vera Cruz, México) for identifying the mite Tetranychus mexicanus.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

We acknowledge National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Minas Gerais State Research Foundation (FAPEMIG), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica (FAPITEC) and Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) for the scholarships and resources granted.