Comparative Efficacies of Acequinocyl (Kanemite TM ) and Abamectin (Agri-Mek TM ) against Twospotted Spider Mite on Tomato and Broad Mite on Jalapeño Pepper

Efficacy of a new miticide, acequinocyl (Kanemite TM 15SC; Arysta LifeScience), was determined against the twospotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Arachnida: Acarina: Tetranychidae), on tomato in the greenhouse and the broad mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) (Arachnida: Acarina: Tarsonemidae), on Jalapeno pepper in the field as compared with the efficacy of abamectin (Agri-Mek TM 0.15EC; Syngenta), a most commonly used miticide-insecticide. In the greenhouse, one application of acequinocyl at 326 g AI/ha (31 fluid oz/acre) or 651 g AI/ha (62 fluid oz /acre) was effective against T. urticae on tomato, and the higher rate (651 g AI/ha) performed slightly better than the lower rate (326 g AI/ha). Similarly, in the field, five applications of acequinocyl at 326 g AI/ha (31 fluid oz/acre) or 651 g AI/ha (62 fluid oz/acre) significantly reduced P. latus populations on Jalapeno peppers, and the higher rate (651 g AI/ha) performed better than the lower rate (326 g AI/ha). However, acequinocyl was not as effective as abamectin at 15.8 g AI/ha (12 fluid oz/acre) on some sampling dates. Jalapeno pepper plants treated with acequinocyl had slightly less damage than those in the water control. Our conclusions are that acequinocyl is highly efficacious against T. urticae on tomato in the greenhouse and relatively efficacious against P. latus on Jalapeno pepper in the field with comparable efficacies with abamectin. The factors that may affect the efficacies of those miticides, especially for control of P. latus under field conditions, are discussed.