ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to characterize the diversity of mites present on five different cultivars of two species of coffee in Garça county, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The following species and cultivars of coffee plant were studied: Coffea canephora Pierre ex Froehner cv Apoatã and C. arabica L. of cultivars Mundo Novo, Icatu Vermelho, Icatu Amarelo and Catuaí Amarelo. The mites were obtained from leaves collected from the mid-third of plants randomly chosen from each cultivar. The samples were collected monthly from April 2001 to June 2003. Apoatã was the cultivar which presented the highest species richness and the highest number of specimens on the leaf surface. On the other hand, this cultivar presented the lowest number of species and of specimens inside domatia. Icatu Vermelho was the cultivar which presented the highest uniformity of distribution of mite species, and Apoatã was the cultivar with the lowest uniformity. On the leaf surface, the phytophagous species Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) and Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor) were the most abundant and frequent species in all cultivars. Among the predators, Euseiuscitrifolius Denmark & Muma and E.concordis (Chant), both Phytoseiidae, were the most abundant and frequent on the leaf surface. The most frequent mites inside domatia were the predators of the family Stigmaeidae, in which Zetzellia malvinae Matioli, Ueckermann & Oliveira were the most abundant in all cultivars of C. arabica. Agistemus brasiliensis Matioli, Ueckermann & Oliveira were very abundant only within domatia of the cultivar Icatu Vermelho.
KEY WORDS
biological control; pest management; Phytoseiidae; Tetranychidae; Stigmaeidae