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Positive effects of plant diversification in an agroecological vineyard on overall Phytoseiidae diversity

Lou, Tabary ; Elena, Kazakou ; Denise, Navia ; Léo, Garcia and Marie-Stéphane, Tixier


2026 - Volume: 66 Issue: Suppl pages: 130

https://doi.org/10.24349/rsne-d56u

ICA 2026 - XVII International Congress of Acarology, 20-24 July 2026, Montpellier

Keywords

Predatory mites Agroecology Ambulatory dispersal Cover-crops Agroforestry

Abstract

Considering the need to reduce dependence on external inputs in agroecosystems, particularly in vineyards, reintegrating plant diversity within plots offers a promising strategy to improve natural regulations by providing a variety of food and shelters for natural enemies. This study aims to evaluate the effects of implementing plant diversity in vineyards on the diversity and spatial dynamics of generalist predatory mites (Phytoseiidae), known to be efficient predators of phytophagous mites. We conducted a two-year study in an experimental vineyard in southern France under contrasting management practices (no diversification, inter-row vegetation, inter-row vegetation + agroforestry trees) to evaluate Phytoseiidae richness and density across all compartments. We also investigated ambulatory dispersal of mites using traps along vine stocks before and after inter-row vegetation destruction to assess potential movement between inter-rows and vine canopy. A total of 963 individuals (11 Phytoseiidae species) were recorded on grapevine leaves, with Phytoseius finitimus, Typhlodromus exhilaratusand Kampimodromus aberrans being the dominant species. Higher densities of Phytoseiidae were observed on vine leaves in themore diversified systems in 2023 compared tothecontrol, whereas no significant differences were detected in 2024. Plant diversification had no significant effect on Phytoseiidae richness on vine leaves in either year. However, the other vegetation compartments within and surrounding the plots hosted high predatory mite diversity (9,299 individuals, 25 species), supporting the hypothesis that increasing plant diversity enhances overall Phytoseiidae diversity within the agroecosystem. Several species were recorded in high densities both on grapevine leaves and in other agroecological compartments (P. finitimus on agroforestry trees, T. exhilaratus on inter-rows vegetation), suggesting potential reservoirs of mites. Traps put along vine stock revealed bidirectional mite movement (mean of 4.59 individuals per trap, 5 species). The dominant species was Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) cryptus and was only found on vine stocks, suggesting habitat specialization. Moreover, Typhlodromus(Anthoseius) recki and T. exhilaratusoccurred both in vegetation (vine and inter-rows) and on vine stocks, indicating potential movement between compartments. Finally, mowing of inter-row vegetation increased dispersal along vine stocks, although this preliminary study was based on a limited number of replicates. Overall, these results indicate that plant diversification enhances Phytoseiidae diversity at the plot scale. However, its effects on Phytoseiidae diversity on vine leaves were inconsistent, potentially depending on climatic conditions and on the efficient dispersal of mites between agroecosystem compartments.

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Article editorial history
Date published:
2026-07-20

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
2026 Lou, Tabary; Elena, Kazakou; Denise, Navia; Léo, Garcia and Marie-Stéphane, Tixier
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