Control of Spider Mites on Oleander Under Greenhouse Conditions, Fall 1996
Abstract Oleander cuttings were rooted in 15 cm pots and allowed 8 wk growth (25-30 cm tall) before use. The plants were fertilized once with Osmocote (14-14-14) and irrigated every other day for three minutes by drip system. By the time we conducted the trial, the plants were moderately infested with twospotted spider mites. A single terminal leaf (fully expanded) was arbitrarily selected to monitor the efficacy of selected pesticides. Mites were brushed off the leaf using a mite-brushing machine, and the number of mites (all stages except eggs) was recorded. A pre-treatment count was taken on 11 Oct and was followed by a single treatment application. Post-treatment counts of live mites were taken weekly for three wks. Spray treatments were applied using a backpack sprayer at approximately 25 psi. Granular treatments were weighed on a balance in the greenhouse, placed directly on the soil in the pot, and irrigated into the soil for three min. A RBC design was used with 5 replicates per treatment. An ANOVA was performed on the data set, and Ryan’s Q was used to separate the means.