Biology and Life Table Parameters of Strawberry Spider Mite, Tetranychus turkestani Studied on Three Cucurbit Host Plants

Biology of strawberry spider mite, Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov& Nikolski was studied on cucumber, courgette and melon under laboratory conditions (30±1oC, 70±5% RH and 14:10 L: D). The mean female immature developmental times on cucumber, courgette and melon were recorded as 7.73±0.14, 8.27±0.24 and 9.54±0.36 days respectively. The values of immature death rate were 42.31, 48.93 and 63.63% on the same three host plants. The average female life spans were estimated 5.78±0.51, 5.41±0.81 and 7.53±0.61 days on the same host plants. Mean daily egg counts were 3.31±0.61, 2.28±0.38 and 1.09±0.32 while mean total egg counts were recorded as 32.81±3.88, 18.5±4.56 and 14.04±2.35 eggs on the same named host plants. Mean sex ratios (female %) were 69, 85 and 78% on cucumber, courgette and melon, respectively. Intrinsic rate of increase (rm) were 0.272±0.01, 0.183±0.02 and 0.125±0.01 on the mentioned host plants. Based upon the biological characteristics and life table parameters, cucumber was found as the most suitable host for growth and reproduction of T. turkestani.