Beijing vigorously produces and promotes predatory mites

Sun Beibei Hou Zhengrong Reporter Lu Xiaochun

Just entering May, the maximum temperature in Beijing has been maintained at about 30 ° C, the hot summer is quietly coming, and the watermelon in the supermarket is becoming more and more popular with the public. At present, watermelons in the suburbs of Beijing have entered the puffed melon stage, and some small watermelon varieties such as "Beyond Dreams" have entered the mature stage and begun to wait for the public to pick. With the growth of watermelons, the red spider, the number one pest of watermelons in the melon shed, has always been a major problem for melon farmers. But in Beijing's main watermelon producing area Daxing District, the old Song melon garden has a clever trick to deal with red spiders, the reporter went to find out.

As soon as I entered the melon shed, I saw the turquoise mini watermelon hidden in the melon vine, growing happily, and did not look like it was endangered by the red spider at all. Technician Master Lei excitedly introduced to reporters the sharp weapon that the park is using to deal with red spiders - the Chilean small planted mite.

According to reports, the red spider is a collective name for leaf mites. Red spiders generally enter the shed in dead branches, rotten leaves, soil cracks or with seedlings in the shed, and begin to multiply in large quantities when the temperature is suitable. Red spiders are also one of the main pests on watermelons in facilities, especially in the middle and late stages of watermelon growth, which reproduce rapidly under high temperature and drought climate conditions, and are prone to outbreaks, which seriously affects the yield and quality of watermelons.

Controlling red spiders has become the biggest headache for melon farmers in recent years. In order to kill insects, various pesticides have taken turns, but red spiders have become more and more serious, because the long-term use of chemical pesticides to control red spiders has caused serious resistance.

At the same time, the problem of pesticide residues caused by the large number of pesticides is also a major problem for consumers. Therefore, both production and market are calling for effective and safe ways to kill red spiders.

It is understood that Chilean small plant mite is an international star product for the control of leaf mites, and it is also one of the predatory natural enemies that have been successfully applied in China's current biological control. Master Lei told reporters that the Chilean small plant mite is a kind of obligate predatory mite with strong control over leaf mites, usually each head can prey on 5 to 30 leaves mites per day, and the female adult mites with the strongest predatory ability can prey on eggs as high as 60 to 70 grains per day per head. The use of Chilean small plant mites to control leaf mites in a growing season can reduce the use of chemical pesticides 3 to 5 times, and can also save water and labor, and ensure the safety of agricultural products and ecological environment.

The reporter learned from the Beijing Plant Protection Station that in order to meet the needs of leaf mite control in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, this year Beijing built a new pilot production line for Chilean small plant mites, with an annual production capacity of 180 million heads. The production line is located in Xiaofengying Village, Kangzhuang Town, Yanqing District, and is the fifth natural enemy production line established by Beijing Kuoye Pastoral Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

The reporter learned that the Chilean small plant sui mite is a new research and development of the company's predator mite, after more than half a year of research and exploration, it was officially put into production and sales in March this year; the company's various predatory predators are not only supplied to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, but also exported to Shandong, Shaanxi, Hainan, Guangxi and other provinces and cities; Chilean small plant mite will also be promoted and sold nationwide on the basis of meeting the needs of leaf mite prevention and control in the surrounding areas in the future.

According to Yin Zhe, section chief of the Beijing Plant Protection Station, since 2009, Beijing has promoted the use of Chilean small plant mites to control leaf mites on a large area in major crops such as vegetables and strawberries in facilities, and the annual promotion area has gradually expanded. Since last year, the anti-leaf mite technology of Chilean small plant mites has been demonstrated on the watermelon in the facility, and the harm control effect is more than 75%. This year, it is planned to promote and demonstrate more than 10,000 mu of fruits and vegetables in the city's facilities, and more than 50,000 mu of radiation will be driven. Among them, it is planned to demonstrate and promote more than 100 acres of watermelon producing areas such as Daxing, Shunyi, and Yanqing to replace the use of chemical pesticides, ensure the safety of watermelon food, and let the public eat watermelon with confidence.