Determination of spider mite abundance in soil of field-grown cucumbers and in plants under predatory mite pressure in invasive infestations using HRM real-time PCR assay (Part 1 of data collection, table KERSTEN_ET_AL_DATA_FIG4)

Between 2017 and 2019 we studied the abundance of spider mites in the soil to estimate the potential infestation pressure of soil colonizing spider mites. The spider mites were heterogeneously distributed in small concentrations in the soil. Soil colonizing spider mites did not affect spider mite abundance on plants and reversed. We observed that spider mite migration occurred primarily from the edge of the field adjacent to the weed strip. In 2020 and 2021, we investigated the efficacy of the predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) for suppressing spider mite hotspots in the cropland. We compared untreated spider mite hotspots with N. californicus treated hotspots and showed that a single release of predatory mites could result in a high level of control when spider mite infestation density was initially high. With this study, soil can be ruled out as a habitat for spider mites, and attention to spider mite pest control can be directed to plant infestations. The highly sensitive HRM real-time PCR assay was used for the quantification of the spider mites. Tetranychus urticae served as reference. Research domain: Soil Sciences Research question: Does the soil serve as a shelter for spider mites and must the soil be included in control strategies? Does invasive infestation by spider mites occur on crops starting from the soil? Can the targeted use of predatory mites contain spider mite hotspots?
table KERSTEN_ET_AL_DATA_FIG4:
Spider mite abundance in the soil of cucumber plots measured 2017 to 2019. Three different open field cucumber plots were investigated per year: A-C 2017; D-F 2018; G-I 2019. Sampling always took place in April, July, and September. Spider mites were detected by HRM real-time PCR (spider mite number/ 100 g sample).

Related datasets are listed in the metadata element 'Related Identifier'.
Dataset version 1.0