Mite resistance and deciduous fruit

November 2021 | Grant A. Herron and Duong Nguyen | Future Orchards® slides

Mite control becomes progressively more difficult when repeated use of the same chemistry selects for resistant populations. This presentation reviews mite resistance in deciduous fruit and places resistance management at the centre of long-term control strategy.

The resource explains why growers need to understand the products they are using rather than treating all miticides as interchangeable. Repeated exposure to the same mode of action increases selection pressure, while poor application or unnecessary treatments can accelerate the loss of useful chemistry.

The presentation is intended to support integrated pest management: monitor pest pressure, use treatments only when justified, rotate chemistry according to recognised resistance-management guidance and protect beneficial organisms where possible.

Because registrations and resistance-management recommendations change, the slides should be used with current APVMA labels and contemporary professional advice.

For orchard managers, the lasting value of the slides is the resistance-management framework: chemical control remains useful only while products retain efficacy, so each treatment decision has consequences for future seasons as well as the immediate pest problem.