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Notes
on Strawberry Insects
|
| Author: | OMAFRA Staff |
|---|---|
| Creation Date: | 17 May 2006 |
| Last Reviewed: | 17 May 2006 |
These are tiny (< 0.3 mm) oval mites, white to amber in colour and best viewed with 10-40× magnification. They feed in the strawberry crown, which causes stunted and distorted growth.
Cyclamen mite
There are multiple generations each year but populations peak in early spring (bud-green fruit stage) and again in late summer (late August-September).
Expect to find more problems in older fields. Monitor strawberry
fields when new buds emerge from the crown and continue until harvest.
Walk a large portion of the field and look for areas where the plants
are slightly stunted and leaves are somewhat distorted or crinkled.
Confirm the presence of cyclamen mite by pinching out the newest leaves
in the crown. Unfold these leaves and examine the mid vein and lower
leaf where it joins the petiole. Masses of eggs look like piles of
salt. Magnification is needed for identification of these mites.
Insecticides for cyclamen mite must be applied in high volumes of
water to ensure coverage in the crown where mites feed. Recommended
timings reflect the stages of growth when good spray coverage is most
likely: when new buds emerge from the crown and again when plants
are mowed.
Beneficial mites and thrips will feed on cyclamen mites. Excessive
use of pesticides, especially pyrethroid insecticides, which are highly
toxic to beneficial mites, can disrupt beneficial insect populations
and lead to outbreaks of cyclamen mite.
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