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Researchers examine the prospects for beneficial mites as a biocontrol for grape powdery mildew.
POWDERY mildew is a perennial battle for grape growers. In the Northeast alone, producers apply hundreds of thousands of pounds of fungicides to control the disease in their vineyards each year. Recent research has revealed, however, that there may be a biological control alternative - tiny tydeid mites that love to feed on powdery mildew.
Cornell researchers are studying the use of these mites in commercial vineyards, and investigating what role they might eventually play in powdery mildew control.
Mites And Mildew
Researchers have known for some time that tydeid and other beneficial mites are commonly found populating the tiny hair-like structures, called acarodomatia, found on the underside of wild grape leaves. They just weren't sure what the mites were doing there.
Cornell researchers - entomologists and plant pathologists, working together - realized that where there were significant populations of the tydeid mites, there was normally very little powdery mildew. It was soon determined that the mites actually find the mildew quite tasty.
The implications for control of the disease were obvious - if only the same results could be found in commercial grape varieties.
Tests conducted on wild grapes in the greenhouse and a small experimental vineyard at Cornell produced some interesting initial results. In the experiments, tydeid mites actually exhibited up to 85% control...