The aim of the study was to determine the population density and group composition of soil mites (Acari), and especially species composition of oribatid mites (Oribatida), in rhizoboxes with apple trees, and to investigate the potential effect of biopreparations on the Acari fauna. The investigations were conducted in 2011-2012, on the basis of a glasshouse experiment established at the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice in 2009. The acarological examinations were carried out in rhizoboxes with apple cultivars ‘Topaz' and ‘Ariwa' grafted on M.26 rootstock and growing in the following combinations: C - control (without fertilization), N - mineral fertilization (standard NPK mineral fertilization, in doses of 70/60/120 kg of respective ingredient per hectare), O - fertilization with manure (at 30 t/ha), M - application of the biopreparation Mycosat (20 g/plant + ½ dose of manure, i.e. 2.5 g per rhizobox), H - application of the biopreparation Humus Active 2% + Aktywit PM 1%.The average total number of soil mites in the different experimental combinations was in the range from 10.70 (combination C) to 12.97 thousand indiv. ∙ m-2 (combination N). Within the hierarchy of mites, the predominant group were oribatid mites, which constituted from 73.9 ...
The aim of the research was to determine the population density and group composition of soil mites (Acari), and in particular the species composition of oribatid mites (Oribatida), on strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips. Field studies were conducted in the experimental field of the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice in 2011-2012. The plots selected for examination were mulched with wood chips as follows: ZC - chips without additives, ZT - chips with the addition of the biopreparation TSB (unidentified Gram-negative rod bacteria), ZG - addition of the biopreparation 7GII (unidentified Actinobacteria). The control plot was a patch of grass near the experimental plots.On the plots examined, the most abundant were oribatid mites, 16.11-18.84 thousand indiv.∙m-2. They accounted for 64.3% of all the mites in the grass patch, but significantly more of them (86.8-89.5%) were found on the strawberry plantations mulched with wood chips. A total of 17 species of oribatid mites were identified on the strawberry plots, but only 9 in the nearby patch of grass. Punctoribates punctum dominated in the grass-covered soil, while the dominant species in the mulched soil were Ramusella mihelcici or Tectocepheus velatus (depending on the experimental combination) .The high abundance and species diversity of ...
