Enhancing the Biological Control of Mite Species Infesting Olive Trees through Application of Predatory Mite Agistemus exsertus Gonzalez (Acari: Stigmaeidae) and Eco‐Friendly Natural Compounds

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a subtropical tree cultivated in arid, dry and temperate regions. Olive orchards in Al‐Jouf of Saudi Arabia are the largest worldwide and currently face harmful pest infestation. The present study aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the predatory mite Agistemus exsertus Gonzalez (Acari: Stigmaeidae) and the exogenously applied melatonin (MT), glycine betaine (GB) and 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as eco‐friendly approaches for enhancing the biological control of four mite species (Tegolophus hassani, Oxycenus niloticus, Aceria olivi and Tetranychus urticae) infesting olive trees in Al‐Jouf under laboratory and field conditions. Field experiment was conducted on 6‐year‐old Manzanillo olive trees grown in a private orchard farm in Al‐Jouf during two seasons, 2020 and 2021. Results revealed that A. exsertus developed successfully from egg to adult. The females of T. hassani, O. niloticus, A. olivi, and T. urticae required 7.36, 8.89, 9.98 and 8.38 days, respectively, to develop from egg to adult at 28°C and 65 ± 5% relative humidity. O. niloticus was the most preferred prey of A. exsertus. The net reproductive rate (R0) was 42.1, 38.7, 34.6 and 36.8 females/female/generation, the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was 0.27, 0.26, 0.23 and 0.20 females/female/day, and the mean generation time (T) was 16.2, 17.1, 18.6 and 17.2 days when a predator consumed T. hassani, O. niloticus, A. olivi and T. urticae, respectively. The adult female consumed daily about 114 O. niloticus, 105 A. olivi, 95 T. hassani and 15.2 T. urticae individuals, respectively. A. exsertus proved to be an effective biocontrol agent against mites infesting olive trees. In addition, the exogenous application of 1 mM MT, 15 mM GB and 25 mg/L ALA, alone or in combination, caused significant mortality for the four mites. Application of these natural compounds, alone or in combination, also significantly enhanced the growth, relative water content, relative chlorophyll, content of flavonoid and nutrients, antioxidant enzymes activities, stress‐related genes expression and fruit yield and quality of the infested olive trees compared to non‐treated infested trees. This study is the first that demonstrates the efficiency of these eco‐friendly approaches for controlling mites infesting olive trees, and could be used as a replacement for the harmful chemical acaricides.