Biological mite control in Hudson and Champlain Valley Apple Orchards Through the Distribution and Conservation of Typhlodromus pyri

Biological mite control is a feasible alternative to pesticide-based control that is sustainable, possibly of lower cost, and void of the concerns that use of chemical pesticides raise. The mite predator Typhlodromus pyri has been shown to provide complete and sustained control of European red mite in apples in a variety of locations throughout the northeast. While previous research has indicated that T. pyri can be an effective biological control agent in eastern New York, there has been no large-scale demonstration of this technology. Beginning in 2001, we undertook such a demonstration effort