Tomato-associated phytophagous mites in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

Due to the great importance that Sinaloa has in the production of red tomato in Mexico, the need arose to carry out the present investigation whose objective was to determine the species of phytophagous mites associated with tomato cultivation in the north of Sinaloa and to know their population fluctuation. The work was carried out in the north of the state, in four sampling sites and two production systems (shade mesh and open field). Sampling was carried out on a biweekly basis during the period from December 2015 to May 2016, randomly 10 plants per plot were selected and 30 leaflets per plant, 10 per stratum (upper, middle and lower) were considered as the sampling unit. 1 548 mites in shade mesh and 1 314 in open field were collected, of the total mites collected, 71.5% corresponded to Tetranychus urticae, 13.2% to Polyphagotarsonemus latus and 15.3% to Phytonemus pallidus. The T. urticae species was present during all stages of crop development, its population fluctuation fluctuated according to temperature conditions, with lower presence records during January-February and higher incidence during April-May. The presence of the cyclamen mite, Phytonemus pallidus in the shade mesh production system during the reproductive stage of the crop represents the first record of the presence of this species on the crop in northern Sinaloa.