Popratni učinak insekticida na predatorsku grinju Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, 1962 u uzgoju paprike

In the Republic of Croatia pepper is a very common vegetable produced in greenhouses and in fields. Western flower thrips, glasshouse whitefly and aphids are most important pests in greenhouses. These pests have a very fast developmental cycle, so frequent application of insecticides is required, which leads to the emergence of resistance. Because of that it is an increasingly common practice to release natural enemies into greenhouses. However, if insecticides are used in addition to biological protection, it is necessary to know the effects of the active substance on released natural enemies. In this experiment, a new insecticide from group 23 was tested under the assumption that it is effective against aphids and that it has no negative effect on the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii. The experiment was performed in two greenhouses, the predatory mite A. swirskii was released in greenhouse I and was treated with the investigated insecticide in full and half dose, while in greenhouse II only full dose (without mites) was applied. Due to the low population of mites during all readings it was not possible to conclude about the impact of insecticide on mites. Since aphids are not typical pests controlled by the use of predatory mites, it was not possible to estimate the effectiveness of the mite. The investigated insecticide proved to be highly effective against aphids in both applied doses.