Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Application of Two-spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae for Plant-pest Interaction Studies
Published on: July 4, 2014
Chemical and Non-Chemical Options for Managing Twospotted Spider Mite, Western Tarnished Plant Bug and Other
Surendra K Dara1, David Peck2, Dave Murray3
1University of California Cooperative Extension, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USA. skdara@ucdavis.edu.
Abstract:
California strawberries have two major arthropod pests-the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae and the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus, which result in significant losses to the yield and quality of marketable berries. Other important insect pests that are frequently seen in strawberry include the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum and the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis that cause varying levels of damage depending on the level of infestation. Chemical pesticides play a major role in managing these pests but not without the associated risk of pesticide resistance and environmental safety. Two field studies were conducted in commercial strawberry fields in Santa Maria, one of the strawberry growing areas in California Central Coast, to determine the efficacy of chemical, botanical and microbial pesticides in the integrated pest management (IPM) of strawberry. Chemical, botanical and microbial pesticides were evaluated against T. urticae in a small plot study in 2013 and against L. hesperus and other insect pests in a large plot study in 2015 in commercial strawberry fields. Bug vacuums were also used in the 2015 study. Results demonstrated that non-chemical alternatives can play an important role in strawberry IPM.
Related Concept Videos
Chemical Formulas
Chemical Equations
Chemical Reactions
Chemical Reactions Rearrange Atoms into New Substances
A chemical reaction takes starting materials—the reactants—and changes them...
Chemical Reactions
The relative amounts of reactants and products represented in a balanced chemical equation are often referred to as stoichiometric amounts. However, in...
Types of Chemical Bonds
Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter

