Control of Citrus Flat Mites on Lemons, 1984

A pesticide efficacy trial was conducted at the University of Arizona Mesa Experiment Station in Yuma, Arizona, to evaluate the ability of various miticides to control the citrus flat mite, Brevipalpus lewisi McGregor, on lemons. Citrus limon (L). Burm .f. ‘Lisbon’. Experimental materials were compared with untreated control plots and Kelthane 1.6EC. A completely random design was used with 3 different trees receiving each treatment. Mite counts were made by examining 10 lemons in the laboratory from each tree and recording the total number of citrus flat mites from each fruit. For statistical analysis each fruit was considered a replicate. The large number of replicates compensated for the nonrandom distribution of the mite population. On the day of the test, the temperatures ranged from 25 to 41°C. Wind speed averaged 3.21 kph. Test materials were applied with a handgun from a John Bean Sprayer operating at 300 psi and a rate of 100 gal per acre (one treatment involving Vendex 4 L was diluted to 500 gal per acre).