Efficacy of a new acaricide acequinocyl (Kanemite® SC, 15%) for the control of European red mite in apple orchards

European red mite Panonychus ulmi (Koch) is one of the most important pests in orchards including apple trees, across different parts of Iran. The effectiveness of the new acaricide acequinocyl was tested on the European red mite of apple tree in three provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Khorasan-e Razavi in 2016. Effect of acequinocyl 1 and 1.25 ml/lit was compared with spirodiclofen 0.5 ml/lit, phenazaquin 0.5 ml/lit, and control (watering). In order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment, the number of live mites on host leaves was recorded at one day before and 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after spraying. The percentage of efficiency of these treatments was calculated using Henderson-Tilton formula and the Analysis of Variance was done with SAS statistical software. In West Azerbaijan, there was a significant difference between treatments at 3 and 7 days and acequinocyl 1.25 ml/lit and phenazaquin were most effective in 3 days (97%). In East Azerbaijan, at 3 days, all acaricides showed more than 73% effectiveness. On the 21st day after spraying, spirodiclofen and acequinocyl (1 ml/lit.) had the highest effect compared to the other treatments (75.27% and 65.07% respectively). In Khorasan-e Razavi, all treatments were more than 93% effective at 14 days and the effect of acequinocyl 1.25 ml/l and phenazaquin treatments were similar (100%) on day 3. The results showed that acequinocyl at the both concentrations (1 ml/lit and 1.25 ml/lit) was effective in controlling European red mite on apple and could be a good alternative to older acaricides.