The avocado red mite
Oligonychus yothersi (McGregor) is the most important avocado (
Persea americana
Mill.) foliar
pest in Chile, infesting ‘Hass’ avocado between mid-summer and late autumn. The post-embryonic development, survival,
longevity and life table parameters of
O. yothersi were evaluated on both young and mature ‘Hass’ avocado leaves at
25 ± 0.7 °C, 60 ± 5% relative humidity and 16:8 h photoperiod. The time for larvae, protonymphs and deutonymphs to
develop was longer on young leaves than on mature leaves. The immature stage of
O. yothersi was shorter (9.29 ± 0.22
d) on mature leaves than on young leaves (14.43 ± 0.28 d);
O. yothersi also exhibited higher survival rates for larvae,
protonymphs, and deutonymphs on mature leaves. The net reproductive rate (R0) 52.756 ± 1.749 individuals female
-1;
intrinsic rate of increase (r
m) 0.241 ± 0.002 female female
-1 d
-1, and finite rate of increase (λ) 1.273 ± 0.002 female female
-1 of
O. yothersi were significantly higher on mature avocado leaves than on young leaves (R
0 = 2.727 ± 0.271, r
m = 0.049 ±
0.004, and λ = 1.051 ± 0.004). The time required to double the
O. yothersi population was only 2.872 ± 0.002 d on mature
leaves. Therefore, life table parameters of
O. yothersi are negatively affected by young avocado leaves, suggesting that
constitutive defenses present in young leaves could affect
O. yothersi population parameters.
