Abstract
The efficacy of Huwa-San TR50 against two spotted mite, Tetranychus urticae, on tomato plants, was tested under greenhouse and laboratory conditions. A sharp reduction in the population of T. urticae was obtained after one week of applying Huwa-San TR50 at a rate of 4000 ppm. This resulted in mortalities of 82.10 and 78.60% under greenhouse and laboratory conditions, respectively. The side effects of Huwa-San TR50 on predatory mite, Neosiulus cucumeris, were also tested to gain successful implementation of new integrated pest management. After the direct application of Huwa-San TR50, N. cucumeris could also sustain its population on treated and/or dead T. urticae, under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Statistically, the difference between laboratory and greenhouse conditions was insignificant (P>0.5, using F-test Graphpad prism 7). Up to 3000 ppm of Huwa-San TR50 reduced the population of N. cucumeris by 11.83 and 17.66% under greenhouse and laboratory conditions, respectively. However, 4000 ppm of Huwa-San TR50 reduced the N. cucumeris population by similar to 3-fold of the reduction gained with 3000 ppm in both treatments. Moreover, the maximum mortality was held between 3000 and 4000 ppm with no significant difference in the mortality of T. urticae. Finally, Huwa-San TR50 can be safely used in biological control programs, as it has little or no effects on biological control agents such as predatory mite, N. cucumeris, which is widely associated with the infestation of two spotted spider mite, T. urticae on tomato plants.