Jun 6, 2017

Spider mites in strawberries targeted

Spider mites, a major pest in California’s strawberry fields, may have met their match.

Chemical ecologist Elvira Simone de Lange, a postdoctoral researcher in the Christian Nansen lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has received a three-year $249,878 federal grant that involves using drones to detect the early infestation of spider mites, and then targeting the pests with biocontrol agents.

The grant is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program.

Her research project, “Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)-Guided Releases of Predatory Mites for Management of Spider Mites in Strawberry,” aims to identify “very subtle differences in reflectance of the strawberry canopy, indicating spider mite-induced stress,” she said. “Releasing predatory mites in these spider mite hotspots will increase their efficacy as biocontrol agents, enhancing sustainability of spider mite management practices in strawberry.”

In her successfully funded proposal, she noted that “Farmers are requesting in-depth testing of how UAS can be integrated successfully into strawberry production to improve management practices.”

UAS, or drones, can monitor large areas in a short period of time. California produces 88 percent of the nation’s strawberries, with an annual value of approximately $2.6 billion.

–Kathy Keatley Garvey