Broad mites on peppers
On pepper, broad mites feed on the newest leaves and small fruit. Leaves turn down and go coppery or purplish, internodes shorten and side buds break in a tuft, and fruit is discoloured where they fed. The Swirski mite controlled broad mites on sweet pepper in greenhouse trials, and it is already released in pepper against thrips and whitefly. Release early rather than waiting for damage, which can show weeks after infestation. A Belgian trial on ivy found it needed at least 64 °F (18 °C) to work well.
At a glance
- Damage
- Twisted, bronzed, brittle shoot tips
- Type
- Sap feeding
- Settings
- Under glass, Indoors, Field
- Threshold
- Any mite or egg confirmed on distorted tips
- Release
- Amblyseius swirskii
- Rate
- Hot-spot rate, 100–300 /m², concentrated on the shoot tips
How to confirm it
Needs a microscope or at least a 20× lens: translucent to amber mites on the youngest leaves and buds, and clear eggs studded with rows of white tufts.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Broad mite profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.
Work it out
How many do I need?
Carries Amblyseius swirskii and pepper through so nothing is re-entered. Open the calculator →