Diversity and abundance of mites in a mandarin citrus orchard in West Sumatra, Indonesia
2005
Affandi
The diversity and abundance of mites were studied in a mandarin citrus (Citrus reticulata Blanco) orchard within the citrus germplasm collection of Indonesia Fruit Research Institute, in West Sumatra, Indonesia from December 2003 to June 2004, and in the Acarology laboratory, Department of Entomology, UPLB [University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna Philippines] from July to October 2004. A very rich mite fauna of 130 species was found in the arboreal parts of citrus, and in the weeds and litter below the canopy of the trees. Among the trophic groups, detritivores were the most abundant with total accumulated number of 11,206 individuals belonging to 50 species, followed by predators (5,998) in 71 species, phytophages (516) in 7 species, and those with unknown feeding habit with only 9 individuals in two species. Among the habitats, weeds harbored the most species (115), followed by litter (78), and arboreal parts (leaves) of the citrus trees (23). Among the growth stages of the citrus, the flush growth stage had the least diverse mite fauna (H' = 1.27), while the most diverse (H' = 2.01) was at fruit development phase 2, three months after flowering. Maintaining cover crops of weeds [especially Axonopus compressus (Sw.) Beauv., and Senna occidentalis (L.) Link.], as refuge and source of alternate prey for predators, and this practice supported by no pesticide application and a flourishing population on the litter beneath the citrus and weeds, apparently supressed populations of phytophagous mites. Hence, the potentially destructive sap feeding mites were scarce in the experiment site, and far from attaining pest status.
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