Acarofauna (Acari) associada à videira (<i>Vitis vinifera</i> L.) no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

In vineyards (Vitis vinifera (L.): Vitaceae), phytophagous mites from the Eriophyidae, Tarsonemidae and Tetranychidae families are the most important ones, having Phytoseiidae, Stigmaeidae and Iolinidae as predators. This work studied the mite fauna associated with Alfrocheiro, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir varieties, in the cities of Bento Gonçalves, Candiota and Encruzilhada do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul State. The sampling was composed by three leaves collected from 20 plants randomly taken in each area. In order to evaluate the presence of mites in the buds, a branch containing three buds was collected from each of the 20 sampled plants during the senescence period. A total of 57,401 mites from 18 families, 49 genus and 69 species were found. Phytoseiidae presented the biggest richness, with 17 species, followed by Stigmaeidae with ten species, and Eriophyidae and Tydeidae with seven species each. Eriophyidae was the most abundant family with 88%, followed by the Tetranychidae family with 4% from the total of mites collected. Calepitrimerus vitis (Nalepa, 1905) and Panonychus ulmi (Koch, 1836) were the most common phytophagous mites, and Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor, 1954), Agistemus floridanus Gonzalez, 1965 and Pronematus anconai Baker, (1943) 1944 were the most common predators.