Environmental Entomology (2018) 47, 781-787

Haiqiang Li, Hongsheng Pan, Dongmei Wang, Bing Liu, Jian Liu, Jianping Zhang and Yanhui Lu (2018)
Intercropping with fruit trees increases population abundance and alters species composition of spider mites on cotton
Environmental Entomology 47 (4), 781-787
Abstract: With the recent increase in planting of fruit trees in southern Xinjiang, the intercropping of fruit trees and cotton has been widely adopted. From 2014 to 2016, a large-scale study was conducted in Aksu, an important agricultural area in southern Xinjiang, to compare the abundance and species composition of spider mites in cotton fields under jujube-cotton, apple-cotton, and cotton monocrop systems. The abundance of spider mites in cotton fields under both intercropping systems was generally higher than in the cotton monocrop. The species composition of spider mites also differed greatly between cotton intercropped with apple or jujube compared to the cotton monocrop. The relative proportion of Tetranychus truncatus Ehara (Acari: Tetranychidae) in the species complex generally increased while that of another spider mite, Tetranychus dunhuangensis Wang (Acari: Tetranychidae), decreased under fruit tree-cotton systems. More attention should be paid to the monitoring and management of spider mites, especially T. truncatus in this important region of China.
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Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tetranychus truncatus	Cotton (Gossypium)	China (NW)
	Tetranychus dunhuangensis	Cotton (Gossypium)	China (NW)