Centre for Plant Protection Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamilnadu.
The biology of chilli muranai mite, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) was studied in the laboratory and the life cycle ranged from 6.5 to 8.0 days during December. The mites breed on alternate hosts viz., cowpea, greengram, horsegram, Phaseolus trilobus, mulberry, gingelly, marigold and Solanum nigrum during the off-season. The mite population on chilli reached a maximum during February. Spraying dicofol 18.5 EC@ 200 g a.i./ha or dusting HCH 10% @ 500 g ai../ha or spraying wettable sulphur 35 SP @ 875 g a.i./ha twice was effective in checking the mite population.
