Below, right, onion bulb mite on the date portion of a penny. Barely visible to the naked eye, the mite has begun to attack some of New York's prized onion fields, and Cornell University scientists want to stop it. We don't have a lot of answers right now, because so little is understood about this problem. However we believe that careful research will come up with the necessary answers. The mite attacks the onion seed before it becomes a seedling or as a very young seedling.
Growers can recognize the problem by the reduced stands or the wilted seedlings.
One theory that Eckenrode's group is investigating is the use of grasses as windbreaks, which keep valuable soil from becoming dust in the wind. These grasses may be harboring the mite until it moves to the onions. However, windbreaks are very important in onion production. Onion growers are painfully aware that it does not take much to ruin a valuable acre of onions. Orange County, N.Y., onion growers have noticed R. robini is becoming more of a pest each year.