Schizotetranychus hindustanicus (Hirst) is a pest of quarantine importance, recently introduced in Brazil. There was no information in the literature, on the efficacy of acaricides for the control of S. hindustanicus (Hirst) under field conditions, up to the conduction of this research. The objective of this study was to evaluate some acaricides currently used in citrus orchards, determining their effect on pest mites and predaceous mites (Phytoseiidae) living among the crop. The experiment was carried out in a citrus orchard (Tahitian lime), in the Boa Vista municipality, in the state of Roraima, Brazil. The acaricides studied and their respective concentrations (g a.i./100 l of water) were: mancozeb (200), abamectin (0.36), spirodiclofen (6), sulphur (400) and dimethoate (80). The application was made using tractor-mounted hydraulic handgun sprayers, using a volume of 10 L of acaricide suspension per plant. The statistical design was a completely randomized design with six treatments and five replicates. The evaluations of the effect of chemicals on the populations of S. hindustanicus and predaceous mites (Phytoseiidae) were carried out at 1, 4, 7, 14, 28, 42 and 56 days after treatment (DAT). During each evaluation, 20 leaves and 10 fruits were collected per plot, counting the number of S. hindustanicus and phytoseiid mites. All the chemicals reduced significantly the population of hindustan citrus mite on the leaves until 28 DAT. The acaricides dimethoate and spirodiclofen were highly effective against S. hindustanicus, and spirodiclofen presented a longer effective period than dimethoate. Regarding the predaceous mites, dimethoate, sulfur and abamectin caused significant mortality (72 to 100%) to the predators up to 4 DAT. The predominant species of Phytoseiid mite was Euseius concordis (Chant), corresponding to 71% of mites of this family.
Citrus hindu mite; Tahitian lime; chemical control; Phytoseiidae