Peculiarities of behaviour and development of spider mites on cucumber in juvenile period of plant ontogenesis
Keywords:
Tetranychus urticae, adaxial and abaxial surfaces of cotyledon leaf, fertility of female, development of preimaginal individualAbstract
The behaviour and development of spider mite on cotyledon leaves of cucumber grades Ginga F1 and Vyaznikovsky 37 were studied in laboratory experiments. It is shown on vegetative seedlings that females on both variety samples prefered to lay eggs on the abaxial surface of the leaf blades. However, in conditions of forced mites on cotyledons, females feeding on the upper side of cotyledon leaves laid 1.5–2 times more eggs on the upper side than on the down one. It is shown that on the adaxial side of cotyledons, the preimaginal development of the herbivore occurs faster than on the abaxial one. It is assumed that the difference in the rate of development of eggs on the upper and down sides of cotyledon leaves may be due to qualitative and (or) quantitative differences in volatile compounds emitted from the surface of the cotyledons.