A novel method for nutritional studies of phytophagous mites, using vacuated leaf disks

Because many phytophagous mites often form serious pests in agricultural crops, there have been many investigations on the effect of the nutritional condition of the host plant on the development of phytophagous mite populations. Detached leaf cultures or leaf disks have been commonly used for such studies. However, the disadvantage of these methods is that nutrient levels can only be determined after chemical analyses of the leaves. We now describe a method in which air is pumped out of a closed container which holds a nutrient solution and the leaf disk. The nutrient solution is then pushed into the leaf disk. Using this method, the effect of all sorts of nutrients on phytophagous mites can be analysed. We used the method for studies on the effect of amino acids on the fecundity of the pink tea mite.