Phytophagous mites infesting vegetable crops of Kerala, India

There are very less number of studies on plant mites from northern part of Kerala, a state province in India. The objective of this study was to have an extensive survey on plant mites from northern part of Kerala. 13 Randomly selected plants were surveyed in this study. A total of 12 species of phytophagous mites belonging to 4 families were recovered. Spider mites from the family Tetranychidae was the most prominent species recovered during our survey. Brinjal presented highest diversity in terms of variety of mites that recovered. This study urges the farmers to consider mites as serious pests and develop a proper pest management program accordingly.