Citrus Rust Mite Control, 1978

The absence of uniformly infested plantings during winter necessitated the dipping of infested fruit on individual trees to evaluate efficacy of several candidate miticides. Mature oranges on ten 18-yr-old trees were examined and 9 fruit/tree were selected for use that had population densities of at least 5 rust mites in each of two 1.2-cm2 lensfields searched/fruit. Fruit was assigned randomly to a treatment and tagged for identification. Foliage and twigs touching the selected fruit were pruned to prevent immediate reinfestation. Quart aliquots equivalent to the rate/100 gal for each material were made up, and fruit immersed for 10 sec in the solution on Dec 19’77. Population densities per two 1.2-cm2 lensfield/fruit were determined periodically after treatment.