Development and reproduction of the two-spotted red spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch as influenced by feeding on leaves of three solanaceous vegetable crops under laboratory conditions

Abstract

Background and Objective: The two spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch was an important polyphagous pest on majority of economic crops. The objective of current study was to determine host suitability of eggplant, pepper and tomato against this pest by considering development and reproduction under laboratory conditions. Materials and Methods: The mite was reared on leaf discs of the tested crops at 27±4EC and 70±4% R.H. Rearing individuals were examined twice daily. Duration of developmental stages, generation time, longevity and fecundity were calculated. Statistical analysis of variance was used and least significant differences at 5% were detected. Results: Duration of all developmental stages was significantly shorter on eggplant, followed by tomato while it was relatively longer on pepper. On the other hand, the higher numbers of deposited eggs were recorded on eggplant, while the least numbers were deposited on pepper. Conclusion: Pepper was less suitable for development and reproduction of T. urticae compared to tomato and eggplant. In future, it is necessary to test host suitability of many pepper cultivars hoping to find resistant cultivars that can be used safety in the integrated pest management against this pest.