مشخصات پژوهش

The plum bud gall mite (PBGM), Acalitus phloeocoptes (Nalepa, 1890) (Acari: Eriophyidae), is distributed worldwide and is common in areas of Prunus cultivation. It was first identified and described in Austria on a plum tree as Phytoptus phloeocoptes Nalepa. This species has been found on branches and twigs of stone fruit trees such as Cotoneaster spp., almond (Prunus amygdalus Batch.), apricot (P. armeniaca L.), myrobalan plum (P. cerasifera Ehrh.), European plum (P. domestica L.), peach (P. persica L.), and blackthorn (P. spinosa L.). This pest is one of the most important pests of plums in West Azerbaijan Province, particularly in Miandoab County. Regarding the relationship between the overwintering populations of plum bud gall mite and the host plant cultivars, surveys were done in three orchards in this county. Sampling of galls was carried out in mid-March 2024 on five randomly selected trees (marked with ribbon tapes) of different cultivars (Orchard 1: Pofaki; Orchard 2: Pofaki, Sharabi, and Akhtari; Orchard 3: Santrizeh and Sharabi). Four twigs per tree, each twig in one cardinal direction (North, South, East, and West), were cut and transferred to the laboratory for study. Therefore, 20 twigs were sampled for each cultivar in each orchard. Sampled twigs were approximately 30 cm long and had galls. Their galls were taken and the total number of mites in the galls of each twig was counted under a Nikon SMZ745 stereomicroscope at a magnification of 50x. Finally, a comparison between means for the total number of mites from the twigs of different cultivars in three orchards was made using Minitab version. 17.3.1 Software. The results showed a significant difference between the same cultivars depending on the other cultivars planted nearby. Cultivar Pofaki of orchard 1 had more mites (mean = 10091.2 ± 1000.5) than the same cultivar in orchard 2 (mean = 1323.1 ± 354.9), which was planted with cultivars Sharabi and Akhtari. Additionally, the cultivar Sharabi of or