Genecology Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, 4558, Australia.
Forest Industries Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2020 Jan;80(1):29-41. doi: 10.1007/s10493-019-00456-3. Epub 2020 Jan 1.
Plant parasitic nematodes are common and important global pests, causing over US$150 billion in crop losses across the agricultural sector worldwide. Meloidogyne javanica and Pratylenchus zeae are two of the most damaging plant-parasitic nematodes and there are limited options for their control. We evaluated the potential of a large (Lasioseius subterraneous) and a small (Protogamasellus mica) mesostigmatan mite as biological control agents of plant-parasitic nematodes. We tested the attack rate and reproductive potential of these two mite species on four nematode species: M. javanica (eggs), Pra. zeae (adults) and two microbivorous nematodes, Mesorhabditis sp. and Aphelenchus avenae (adults for both species). Each mite/nematode combination (1 mite:100 nematodes) was tested in six replicate arenas. In a separate trial, each mite species was presented with 50 A. avenae and 50 Pra. zeae in the same arena to determine prey preference. Both mite species significantly reduced the abundance of all nematode species used in the trials when compared to nematode-only controls. Lasioseius subterraneous consumed all available M. javanica eggs within 72 h. The larger mite had a significantly higher overall attack rate than the smaller mite, each consuming an average of 96 and 72 nematodes, respectively, within 72 h. However, both mites had a similar reproductive rate. Protogamasellus mica displayed a positive preference towards the plant parasitic nematode Pra. zeae over the fungal feeding A. avenae whereas L. subterraneous did not display a prey preference. Our results highlight the potential of these two predators to control plant parasitic nematodes, although further trials under field conditions are needed.
植物寄生线虫是常见且重要的全球性害虫，在全球农业领域造成的作物损失超过 1500 亿美元。爪哇根结线虫和玉米根结线虫是两种最具破坏性的植物寄生线虫，目前控制它们的方法有限。我们评估了一种大型（地下革螨）和一种小型（小食螨甲）捕食性螨虫作为植物寄生线虫生物防治剂的潜力。我们测试了这两种螨虫对四种线虫的攻击率和繁殖潜力：爪哇根结线虫（卵）、玉米根结线虫（成虫）和两种食真菌线虫，即斯氏线虫和麦长管蚜线虫（成虫）。每种螨虫/线虫组合（1 只螨虫：100 条线虫）在 6 个重复的竞技场中进行测试。在另一个试验中，每种螨虫都在同一个竞技场中与 50 条 A. avenae 和 50 条 Pra. zeae 一起展示，以确定猎物偏好。与仅含线虫的对照组相比，这两种螨虫都显著降低了试验中使用的所有线虫的丰度。地下革螨在 72 小时内消耗了所有可用的爪哇根结线虫卵。较大的螨虫总体攻击率明显高于较小的螨虫，在 72 小时内分别平均消耗了 96 条和 72 条线虫。然而，两种螨虫的繁殖率相似。Protogamasellus mica 对植物寄生线虫玉米根结线虫表现出明显的偏好，而不是对真菌取食的 A. avenae，而 L. subterraneous 则没有表现出猎物偏好。我们的结果强调了这两种捕食者控制植物寄生线虫的潜力，尽管还需要在田间条件下进行进一步的试验。
