Swirski-Mite LD has been specially developed to be used preventatively and was launched to the market at the end of 2011. The bags contain a breeding system that utilizes two different prey mites for the first time. The result is a bag from which a great many predatory mites emerge every week over the course of a longer period.
The LD variant (LD stands for Long Duration) represents an improvement in the preventative usability of Amblyseius swirskii in crops in which no pests or pollen are yet present. Without these sources of food, the predatory mite will find it very difficult to establish itself in the crop. Swirski-Mite LD provides the assurance that even under such conditions there will still be sufficient numbers of predatory mites in the crop to tackle any pests as soon as they arrive in the crop. As a result, Amblyseius swirskii becomes available for new applications.
The slow-release bag contains not one but two types of prey mites. Both prey mites are able to reproduce quickly under a variety of different conditions. At least one type of prey mite is therefore always present in the slow-release bag in sufficient numbers. This means that there is food available to the predatory mite more often and for longer, and the usable life of the bag is extended. If the circumstances are favourable, the bags will easily last for at least six weeks.
Swirski-Mite LD eats thrips in the first larva phase and the eggs and youngest larval stages of both the glasshouse whitefly and the cotton whitefly.
More information: www.koppert.com