Insect and mite pests of pepino (Solanum muricatum Ait.) in Japan.

To further increase the basic knowledge regarding the establishment of pest control for pepino (Solanum muricatum Ait.), we conducted surveys of pepino pests in Japan. Thirty-four insect and four mite species were recognized as pests of pepino plants in the present study. Including the results of previous studies, a total of 41 species of insects and mites have been reported as pests of pepino plants in Japan. Three species, namely onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), and cotton whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci), are likely the most important insect and mite pests of pepino plants, because they were collected from more than half of the study sites and were much more abundant on pepino plants than the other pest species.

Introduction

Pepino ( Ait., the Spanish name for sweet cucumber) is a solanaceous plant cultivated as a fruit crop and native to the Andes. To date, 22 insect and three mite species have been recorded as pests of pepino worldwide (excluding Japan). Seven of them, inclusive of the two-spotted spider mite Koch, 1836, are regarded to be the most important among the pests of pepino (Larraín 2002; Galbreath and Clearwater 1983; Akyazi 2012). In 2016, our research team began a research project aimed at producing high quality and flavorsome pepino fruits, whose soluble solids content was rather low in the Japanese fruits (Sakata 2011). In order to establish solid pest control in its commercial cultivation and to produce high quality and stable pepino fruits, our research team has tried to comprehensively elucidate the pests of pepino in the project.

To date, 13 insect and mite species have been recorded in Japan as pests of pepino (Kim et al. 2017). However, few studies have been conducted on pests of pepino plants in Japan. The reason for this may be that the number of pests of pepino plants recognized in Japan is rather low compared to those of other popular solanaceous crops such as tomato (), eggplant (), potato (), and green pepper () (The Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology 2006). This low number of pests is attributable to the small area in which studies have been conducted on pepino, which has a radius of 250 m at most (Kim et al. 2017). In order to develop an accurate understanding of pests of pepino plants, it is necessary to conduct research across an extensive area of Japan.

In order to expand the basic knowledge required for the establishment of pest control for pepino plants, we conducted investigations of pepino pests in Japan in the experimental fields of our university, Tokyo University of Agriculture, as well as on farms and in garden centers in Japan. This study was conducted under a project for regional development titled ‘Launching of Nodai-branded Pepino Crop’ conducted by the Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture (Kim et al. 2017). This paper documents the results of our field surveys of pests of pepino plants in Japan after the latest report by Kim et al. (2017), with a brief discussion on pests of importance to the cultivation of pepino in Japan.

Materials and methods

Study sites

This study was conducted at 11 sites in Japan (Fig. 1). Of these, sites 1–7 are in a warm-temperate climate zone, and sites 8–11, on Okinawa Island, are in a subtropical climate zone. The sites are as follows: Site 1 (Fig. 2a): a greenhouse located in Ookubo, Tochigi-shi, Tochigi Prefecture (36.439N 139.668E; 93 meters above sea level (m a.s.l.)), surrounded by hills and vegetable fields. Approximately 10 potted pepino plants were cultivated at site 1. Site 2 (Fig. 2b): an open field located in Nurumizu, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (35.433N 139.348E; 43 m a.s.l.), surrounded by residential quarters and a woody and grassy park. Approximately 40 pepino plants were cultivated at site 2. Site 3 (Fig. 2c): an open field (with a roof against rain) located in Hase, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (35.432N 139.346E; 49 m a.s.l.), surrounded by residential quarters and a woody and grassy park. Approximately 20 pepino plants were cultivated at site 3. Site 4 (Fig. 2d): a greenhouse located in northern Funako, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (35.431N 139.350E; 27 m a.s.l.), surrounded by residential quarters and a woody and grassy park. Approximately 60 potted pepino plants were cultivated at site 4. Site 5 (Fig. 2e): a greenhouse located in southern Funako, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (35.429N 139.349E; 42 m a.s.l.), surrounded by residential quarters and a woody and grassy park. Approximately 400 potted pepino plants were cultivated at site 5. Site 6 (Fig. 2f): a greenhouse located in San-nomiya, Isehara-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (35.400N 139.282E; 62 m a.s.l.), surrounded by vegetable fields. Approximately 100 potted pepino plants were cultivated at site 6. Site 7 (Fig. 3a): a greenhouse located in Koshiozu, Tahara-shi, Aichi Prefecture (34.600N 137.097E; 27 m a.s.l.), surrounded by vegetable fields and hills. Approximately 1000 potted pepino plants were cultivated at site 7. Site 8 (Fig. 3b): an open field located in Miyahira, Haebaru-cho, Okinawa Prefecture (26.189N 127.735E; 34 m a.s.l.), surrounded by vegetable fields. Approximately 20 pepino plants were cultivated at site 8. Site 9 (Fig. 3c): an open field located in Kyan, Haebaru-cho, Okinawa Prefecture (26.186N 127.736E; 18 m a.s.l.), surrounded by vegetable fields. Approximately 20 pepino plants were cultivated at site 9. Site 10 (Fig. 3d): a garden center located in Inamine, Nanjo-shi, Okinawa Prefecture (26.172N 127.734E; 43 m a.s.l.), surrounded by residential quarters. Approximately 25 potted pepino plants were displayed for sale at site 10. Site 11 (Fig. 3e): a garden center located in Takahira, Nanjo-shi, Okinawa Prefecture (26.171N 127.737E; 34 m a.s.l.), surrounded by residential quarters. Approximately 15 potted pepino plants were displayed for sale at site 11.

Figure 1.

Locations of the 11 study sites in Japan.

Figure 2a.

Study site 1, the inside of a greenhouse in Tochigi Prefecture (36.439N 139.668E).

Figure 2b.

Study site 2, an open field in Kanagawa Prefecture (35.433N 139.348E), just after planting of nursery pepinos.

Figure 2c.

Study site 3, an open field (with a roof against rain) in Kanagawa Prefecture (35.432N 139.346E).

Figure 2d.

Study site 4, the inside of a greenhouse in Kanagawa Prefecture (35.431N 139.350E).

Figure 2e.

Study site 5, the inside of a greenhouse in Kanagawa Prefecture (35.429N 139.349E).

Figure 2f.

Study site 6, the inside of a greenhouse in Kanagawa Prefecture (35.400N 139.282E).

Figure 3a.

Study site 7, the inside of a greenhouse in Aichi Prefecture (34.600N 137.097E).

Figure 3b.

Study site 8, an open field in Okinawa Prefecture (26.189N 127.735E).

Figure 3c.

Study site 9, an open field in Okinawa Prefecture (26.186N 127.736E).

Figure 3d.

Study site 10, a garden center in Okinawa Prefecture (26.172N 127.734E), pepino nursery stocks (shown in the middle) are lined up with other plant pots.

Figure 3e.

Study site 11, a garden center in Okinawa Prefecture (26.171N 127.737E), pepino nursery stocks (shown in the middle) are lined up with other plant pots.

Sampling methods

All specimens were collected by looking at or beating the leaves, branches and fruits of pepino plants. A total of more than 80 collections were performed in the 11 study sites (once at sites 1, 6, 7, 10, and 11; three times at site 4; four times at sites 8 and 9; nine times at site 5; 24 times at site 3; and more than 30 times at site 2) from February 24th, 2017 to March 14th, 2019. Our sampling period followed that of Kim et al. (2017), with two exceptions, as unidentified specimens collected on October 26th and November 23rd, 2016 represented the species not found in this main survey. Each of the collections was conducted for a maximum of three hours during the daytime by one or two persons. The collected insects and mites were killed immediately after capture, using ethyl acetate. Aphids, lepidopteran larvae, and mites were fixed in plastic bottles filled with 70–80% ethanol. All specimens, which were killed with ethyl acetate and fixed with ethanol, were prepared as dry mounted, slide-mounded, or ethanol preserved for morphological examination. Slide-mounted specimens were prepared with the following procedure: specimens were macerated in a hot 5–7% KOH solution for 5 minutes; macerated specimens were washed in distilled water for a few minutes; washed specimens were moved from distilled water onto a drop of Neo-Sigaral (balsam-like liquid for easy preparation method; Shiga-Konchu-Fukyusha, Tokyo, Japan) on the middle of a glass slide, and then covered gently with a 12 mm (15 mm for larger specimen) cover glass.

Identification methods

Identification of insect and mite specimens was performed using stereoscopic microscopes (Olympus SZ60 and Olympus SZX16, Tokyo, Japan) and optical microscopes (Olympus BH-2 and Olympus BX41, Tokyo, Japan) by Tadashi Ishikawa, Yoshihiro Yamada, and Naoki Kaneko according to the following studies: Kawai (1980), Dworakowska (1982), Moritsu (1983), Kimoto and Takizawa (1994), Iwasaki et al. (2000), Yasunaga et al. (2001), Umeya and Okada (2003), Furukawa (2005), Orthopterological Society of Japan (2006), Matsumoto (2008), Ehara and Gotoh (2009), Yasuda et al. (2010), Japan Plant Protection Association (Ed) (2011), Kobayashi and Matsumoto (2011), Harada and Takizawa (2012), Ishikawa et al. (2012), Okajima and Araya (2012), Tanaka and Uesato (2012), Yasuda et al. (2012), Carapia Ruiz and Castillo-Gutiérrez (2013), Masumoto and Okajima (2013), Yasuda et al. (2014), Aoki (2015), Yasunaga et al. (2015), Sakamoto (2018), Tokumaru (2018), along with the original descriptions and/or redescriptions of corresponding species if necessary. Collected specimens were regarded as pests only in this paper if these were insects or mites that directly damaged pepino plants, were known as pests of pepino plants in the native range and introduced regions of pepino plants other than Japan (Galbreath and Clearwater 1983; Larraín 2002; Grinberg et al. 2005; Akyazi 2012), or were known as pests of major solanaceous crops such as tomato, eggplant, potato, and green pepper, in Japan, with reference to studies such as Umeya and Okada (2003) and The Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology (2006). All examined specimens are preserved in the Insect Collection (IC) at the Laboratory of Entomology, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa, Japan (LETUA).

Results

In this study, 701 individual insects and mites belonging to 38 species were recognized as pests of pepino plants (Suppl. material 1). They consisted of 34 hexapod species belonging to 17 families in seven orders (which are classified into two classes, the and the ) and four mite species in one family and one order (Table 1). Of these 38 species, 35 have been known as pests of solanaceous crops such as tomato, eggplant, potato, and green pepper in Japan (Yasunaga et al. 1993; Yasunaga et al. 2001; Umeya and Okada 2003; Komine and Matsuo 2005; Yokohama Plant Protection Station 2005; Ono et al. 2006; The Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology 2006; Harada and Takizawa 2012). The remaining three species, the spotted grasshopper ( Bolivar, 1905), the black chafer ( (Niijima et Kinoshita, 1923)), and the tussock caterpillar ( (Shiraki, 1913)), were newly recognized as pests of pepino plants.

Table 1.

List of insect and mite pests found on pepino plants in Japan in the present study. The presence of the pests is indicated by "+".

Class, Order, Family

Species

Development stage

Feeding parts

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site 4

Site 5

Site 6

Site 7

Site 8

Site 9

Site 10

Site 11

Entognatha, Collembola, Bourletiellidae

Bourletiella hortensis (Fitch, 1863) (Fig. 4)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Orthoptera, Pyrgomorphidae

Atractomorpha sinensis Bolivar, 1905 (Fig. 5)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

Insecta, Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae

Haplothrips chinensis Priesner, 1933 (Fig. 6a)

adult

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae

Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom, 1895) (Fig. 6b)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande, 1895) (Fig. 6c)

adult

leaf

+

+

+

+

Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae

Thrips nigropilosus Uzel, 1895 (Fig. 6d)

adult

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae

Thrips palmi Karny, 1925 (Fig. 6e)

adult

leaf

+

+

+

+

Insecta, Thysanoptera, Thripidae

Thrips tabaci Lindeman, 1889 (Fig. 6f)

adult

leaf

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889) (Fig. 7a)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

+

+

+

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae

Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood, 1856) (Fig. 7b)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Aphididae

Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877 (Fig. 7c)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Aphididae

Aphis spiraecola Patch, 1914 (Fig. 7d)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Aphididae

Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas, 1878) (Fig. 7e)

adult

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Aphididae

Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776) (Fig. 7f)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Cicadellidae

Amrasca biguttula (Ishida, 1913) (Fig. 8)

adult

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Tingidae

Corythucha marmorata (Uhler, 1878) (Fig. 9a)

adult

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Miridae

Campylomma livida Reuter, 1885 (Fig. 9b)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

+

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Miridae

Prolygus bakeri (Poppius, 1915) (Fig. 9c)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Miridae

Taylorilygus apicalis (Fieber, 1861) (Fig. 9d)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Pentatomidae

Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Fig. 9e)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Hemiptera, Coreidae

Acanthocoris sordidus (Thunberg, 1783) (Fig. 9f)

adult, nymph

stem

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae

Atrachya menetriesi (Faldermann, 1835) (Fig. 10a)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae

Epitrix hirtipennis (Melsheimer, 1847) (Fig. 10b)

adult

leaf

+

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae

Psylliodes angusticollis Baly, 1874 (Fig. 10c)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae

Psylliodes punctifrons Baly, 1874 (Fig. 10d)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Coccinellidae

Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius, 1775) (Fig. 11a)

adult, larva

leaf

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae

Maladera orientalis (Motschulsky, 1857) (Fig. 11b)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae

Nigrotrichia kiotoensis (Niijima et Kinoshita, 1923) (Fig. 11c)

adult

leaf

+

Insecta, Diptera, Agromyzidae

Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, 1938 (Fig. 12)

adult, larva

leaf

+

Insecta, Lepidoptera, Lymantriidae

Orvasca taiwana (Shiraki, 1913) (Fig. 13a)

larva

leaf, fruit

+

+

Insecta, Lepidoptera, Noctuidae

Gonitis mesogona (Walker, 1858) (Fig. 13b)

larva

leaf

+

Insecta, Lepidoptera, Noctuidae

Trichoplusia ni (Hübner, 1803) (Fig. 13c)

larva

leaf

+

+

+

Insecta, Lepidoptera, Noctuidae

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808) (Fig. 13d)

larva

fruit

+

Insecta, Lepidoptera, Noctuidae

Spodoptera litura (Fabricius, 1775) (Fig. 13e)

larva

leaf

+

Arachnida, Trombidiformes, Tetranychidae

Bryobia praetiosa Koch, 1835 (Fig. 14a)

adult

leaf

+

Arachnida, Trombidiformes, Tetranychidae

Tetranychus evansi Baker et Pritchard, 1960 (Fig. 14b)

adult

leaf

+

Arachnida, Trombidiformes, Tetranychidae

Tetranychus ludeni Zacher, 1913 (Fig. 14c)

adult

leaf

+

+

Arachnida, Trombidiformes, Tetranychidae

Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 (Fig. 14d)

adult, nymph

leaf

+

+

+

+

+

+

+

Discussion

Prior to the present study, the following 13 species of insects and mites were recognized as pests of pepino plants in Japan (Furusato 1984; Takahashi 1985; Takagi 1985; Kita 1986; Odagiri et al. 1986; Ozawa 1986; Kim et al. 2017, see also in Table 2): flower thrips ( (Trybom, 1895)), cotton whiteflies ( (Gennadius, 1889)), greenhouse whiteflies ( (Westwood, 1856)), cotton aphids ( Glover, 1877), solanum mealybugs ( Ferris, 1918), plant bugs ( Reuter, 1885), tobacco flea beetles ( (Melsheimer, 1847)), vegetable leafminer ( Blanchard, 1938), potato tuberworms ( (Zeller, 1873)), tobacco cutworms ( (Fabricius, 1775)), cabbage loopers ( (Hübner, 1803)), broad mites ( (Banks, 1904)), and two-spotted spider mites ( Koch, 1836). In the present study, our surveys conducted in different locations in Japan revealed the presence of 38 species of insect and mite pests on pepino plants, as mentioned above (Table 1). Ten pest species were frequently recorded in the previous studies (Furusato 1984; Takagi 1985; Takahashi 1985; Kita 1986; Odagiri et al. 1986; Ozawa 1986; Kim et al. 2017) as well as in the present study. In addition, three species, namely solanum mealybugs, potato tuberworms, and broad mites, were not found in our surveys.

Table 2.

Comprehensive list of insect and mite pests of pepino plants in Japan.

Class	Order	Family	Species	References
Entognatha	Collembola	Bourletiellidae	Bourletiella hortensis (Fitch, 1863)	present study
Insecta	Orthoptera	Pyrgomorphidae	Atractomorpha sinensis Bolivar, 1905	present study
Insecta	Thysanoptera	Phlaeothripidae	Haplothrips chinensis Priesner, 1933	present study
Insecta	Thysanoptera	Thripidae	Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom, 1895)	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Thysanoptera	Thripidae	Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande, 1895)	present study
Insecta	Thysanoptera	Thripidae	Thrips nigropilosus Uzel, 1895	present study
Insecta	Thysanoptera	Thripidae	Thrips palmi Karny, 1925	present study
Insecta	Thysanoptera	Thripidae	Thrips tabaci Lindeman, 1889	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Aleyrodidae	Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889)	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Aleyrodidae	Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood, 1856)	Furusato (1984), Takahashi (1985), Takagi (1985), Kita (1986), Odagiri et al. (1986), Ozawa (1986), present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Aphididae	Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Aphididae	Aphis spiraecola Patch, 1914	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Aphididae	Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas, 1878)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Aphididae	Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Pseudococcidae	Phenacoccus solani Ferris, 1918	Kim et al. (2017)
Insecta	Hemiptera	Cicadellidae	Amrasca biguttula (Ishida, 1913)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Tingidae	Corythucha marmorata (Uhler, 1878)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Miridae	Campylomma livida Reuter, 1885	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Miridae	Prolygus bakeri (Poppius, 1915)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Miridae	Taylorilygus apicalis (Fieber, 1861)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Pentatomidae	Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855)	present study
Insecta	Hemiptera	Coreidae	Acanthocoris sordidus (Thunberg, 1783)	present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Chrysomelidae	Atrachya menetriesi (Faldermann, 1835)	present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Chrysomelidae	Epitrix hirtipennis (Melsheimer, 1847)	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Chrysomelidae	Psylliodes angusticollis Baly, 1874	present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Chrysomelidae	Psylliodes punctifrons Baly, 1874	present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Coccinellidae	Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata (Fabricius, 1775)	present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Scarabaeidae	Maladera orientalis (Motschulsky, 1857)	present study
Insecta	Coleoptera	Scarabaeidae	Nigrotrichia kiotoensis (Niijima et Kinoshita, 1923)	present study
Insecta	Diptera	Agromyzidae	Liriomyza sativae Blanchard, 1938	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Gelechiidae	Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller, 1873)	Ozawa (1986)
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Lymantriidae	Orvasca taiwana (Shiraki, 1913)	present study
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Noctuidae	Gonitis mesogona (Walker, 1858)	present study
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Noctuidae	Trichoplusia ni (Hübner, 1803)	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Noctuidae	Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808)	present study
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Noctuidae	Spodoptera litura (Fabricius, 1775)	Kim et al. (2017), present study
Arachnida	Acari	Tarsonemidae	Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks, 1904)	Kim et al. (2017)
Arachnida	Acari	Tetranychidae	Bryobia praetiosa Koch, 1835	present study
Arachnida	Acari	Tetranychidae	Tetranychus evansi Baker et Pritchard, 1960	present study
Arachnida	Acari	Tetranychidae	Tetranychus ludeni Zacher, 1913	present study
Arachnida	Acari	Tetranychidae	Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836	Ozawa (1986), Kim et al. (2017), present study

Including the results of the present study, a total of 41 species of insects and mites have been recorded as pests of pepino plants in Japan (Table 2). Therefore, 28 species are newly recorded as pepino pests in Japan. This increase in the number of pest species is likely the result of not only the longer sampling period in this study, but also the fact that more study sites were sampled in the present study than in the study by Kim et al. (2017), who undertook surveys for approximately one and a half years in three sites located within a radius of 250 m in Kanagawa Prefecture (sites 3, 4, and 5 in this study correspond to plots A, B, and C in Kim et al. (2017), respectively). In particular, the inclusion of study sites on Okinawa Island (sites 8–11), which has a subtropical climate, may be one of the major factors behind the increase in the number of pest species recorded, since Okinawa has insect species unique to the region, such as spotted grasshoppers, tussock caterpillars, Chinese thrips ( Priesner, 1933), and plant bugs ( (Poppius, 1915)).

Among the 38 species detected in the present study, onion thrips ( Lindeman, 1889), two-spotted spider mites, and cotton whiteflies were collected from more than half of the study sites, that is, from 8 sites, 7 sites, and 6 sites, respectively. Moreover, these three species, on an empirical basis, were much more abundant on pepino plants than the other pest species, and from several hundred to thousands of individuals of these three species were found on each pepino plant (Fig. 15). In Japan, these three species may be considered the most important insect and mite pests of pepino plants.

In the world, 25 species of insects and mites are known as pests of pepino plants and seven species of them are considered as important pests (Larraín 2002; Galbreath and Clearwater 1983; Akyazi 2012). Of these seven, four species, namely two-spotted spider mites, green peach aphids, mealybugs ( Tinsley, 1898), and broad mites, are distributed in Japan. The former two species are common to Japan and the world as pests of pepino plants. The latter two species have not been found so far from pepino plants in Japan, but attention should be paid to future trends. On the other hand, onion thrips and tobacco whiteflies, which are considered to be likely the most important pests in Japan in the present study, are not important in other countries to date; however, these two species might be important pests because they are distributed worldwide.

Although most of the Japanese pest species of pepino plants are leaf-feeders, two lepidopteran species, tussock caterpillars and tobacco budworms ( (Hübner, 1808)), were observed feeding on the fruits of pepino plants in the current study (Fig. 16). This results in holes in the fruits, which may negatively affect the commercial value of pepino. Pest management will be important for the cultivation of pepino plants, because no pesticides applicable to these plants have been registered in Japan to date. Therefore, biological control will have to be used for the commercial cultivation of pepino at the moment.

PEPINO_PESTS data

Data type: occurrences

Brief description: Occurrences of insect and mite species of pests of pepino plants in Japan.

File: oo_321746.xls