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10-Minute Presentation

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-min: P-IE, Biocontrol

Predatory mite release by drones and date fruit bunch application for spider mite management in date palms

Sunday, November 9, 2025
11:00 AM - 11:12 AM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, E145, OCC
Oral Presentation

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Bodil Cass

    Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
    University of California
    Riverside, California

    • Co-Author(s)

  • MT

    Makayla Tjon

    University of California-Riverside
    Riverside, California

  • SH

    Sean Halloran

    University of California, Riverside
    Riverside, California

  • Thomas Perring

    University Of California
    Riverside, California

Edible dates (Phoenix dactylifera, Arecaceae) have been grown in the Coachella Valley (Riverside County) of California for generations. It is a precarious production system requiring specialized tending of the date palms and developing fruit, which grow high in the garden canopy throughout the season. Banks grass mite, Oligonychus pratensis (Acari: Tetranychidae), is a serious pest of the Deglet Noor variety. This mite damages dates by feeding on the epidermal layer of developing date fruit, which scars the fruit and lowers the quality of the fresh market date. We are evaluating a variety of management methods in field trials conducted on commercial farms. These methods include early season release of predatory mites in the date palm canopy using drones and slow-release of predatory mites using sachets applied to date fruit bunches. Results will be presented from the 2025 crop year.