The woolly whitefly
Aleurothrixus floccosus
(Maskell), and the red citrus red mite
Panonychus citri
(McGregor), are considered serious citrus pests which may cause economic damage, and the use of non selective insecticides increases the problem due to the effect on the natural enemies. To evaluate the use of detergent based on sodium benzene sulfonate on the reduction of whiteflies, mites and natural enemies, experiments were performed in two citrus orchards. The first field trial was carried out on in a mandarin orchard (
Citrus reticulata
Blanco) infested by the woolly whitefly at El Palqui (IV Region, Chile). The experiment consisted of the evaluation of two applications of detergent (February 10
th and March 3
rd, 1998), compared with an untreated control. The results showed significant differences in
A. floccosus populations between sprayed and untreated trees from May to July. The mean of parasitized nymphs between March and August was 89.6% in treated trees and 57.1% in untreated trees. The proportion of fruits at harvest with sooty mould was lower on untreated trees compared with the control, 2.3% and 45.5%, respectively. The second field trial was carried out on an orange orchard trees (
Citrus sinensis
(L.) Osbeck), infested by the citrus red miteat Hijuelas (V Region) and included the following applications detergent, chinometionate, mineral oil and water. Chinometionate produced an effective control of the phytophagous mites populations and an almost total elimination of natural enemies such as phytoseiids and the coccinellid
Stethorus histrio
Chazeau. The application of detergent and mineral oil showed less control compared to the acaricide and less impact on populations of natural enemies.