The UJI fights against the plague of red spider with biological alternatives with lower toxicity than pesticides



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## The UJI fights against the plague of red spider with biological alternatives with lower toxicity than pesticides Research groups of the UJI, led by Víctor Flors and Josep Jaques, demonstrate that resistance to pests and diseases has not been a priority when selecting crops

07/06/2018 |
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Scientists of the research groups Metabolic Integration and Cell Signaling (MICS) and Integrated Management of Agricultural Pests of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) fight against the plague of red spider with biological alternatives with lower toxicity than pesticides. The conclusions of the bibliographic review led by both group directors, Víctor Flors and Josep Jaques, respectively, have just been published in the *International Journal of Molecular Sciences*.

The researcher Víctor Flors assures that in this work a transition is made from more applied aspects on the treatment of this pest and field knowledge "towards more molecular perspectives and the immune response of plants" thanks to the collaboration that both research groups maintain. The two research groups belong to the Department of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Environment of the UJI.

One of the reasons for the red spider's progress is related to a model of selection of cultivated varieties — for example, in citrus and tomatoes — that have prioritized “the attractive and appealing aspect for consumers, regardless of the fact that they are more vulnerable to attack by pests and diseases”, says Víctor Flors, lecturer of Plant Physiology.

On his behalf, Josep Jaques, lecturer of Plant Production, adds that the generalization of the use of pesticides to solve the problems of pests and diseases “has not helped that the resistance to these enemies of the plants has received more interest. For this reason, in many occasions we have crops addicted to pesticides”. “This situation would have to be reversed so that the cultivated plants have their own arsenal of defenses with which to protect themselves, thus producing healthier foods, without having to renounce to their organoleptic characteristics”, concludes the specialist in entomology.

**MORE SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES**

In the case of the red spider, UJI scientists argue that traditionally the focus of attention has been on the plague. However, given the complexity of their management, in the words of the lecturers, “new tools and points of view are necessary to carry out an integral control of pests, which include both the study of the red spider and the immunity of the plant and attraction by volatile compounds of possible natural enemies of the red spider that eliminate it from the crop of interest”.

Both research groups have jointly studied the patterns of citrus resistant to the plague of the red spider in order to put this knowledge “at the disposal of companies to develop technologies more sustainable and environmentally friendly”, they explain.

The plague of the red spider (*Tetranychus urticae*) has a worldwide incidence in plant species of agrifood and ornamental interest. Recent studies have derived in the sequencing of the genome of this mite, developed through the Genomite project.

The work published by the UJI in the *International Journal of Molecular Sciences* has analysed all methods of biological control taking into account two points of view; first, that of the mite itself, through the possibility of using natural predators of the spider. “In this way, we avoid the use of pesticides or acaricides that are not effective against this pest and can also be harmful to the environment and biodiversity”, explains the researcher Victoria Pastor.

In second term, the perspective of the plant has been approached, through an adequate conditioning of the immune system, of its constitutive and inducible defenses to defend against the attack of the red spider. "These defenses can be translated either by reducing the abundance of the spider or by increasing the tolerance of the plant to the mechanical damage caused by the mite," adds Pastor, member of the MICS group.

The research lines of the Integrated Management of Agricultural Pest research group, directed by Josep Jaques, focus on the study of insects and mites of agricultural importance, their biology, ecology, sampling methods and thresholds, their integrated management with special emphasis in biological control, and phytosanitary risk analysis. Josep Jaques has 3,155 citations and an *h-*index of 29 (Scopus). He is an expert of the plant health panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), member of the Executive Committee of the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC-Global), coordinator of the IOBC Commission for the Harmonization of Invertebrate Biological Control Agents (CHIBCA) and associate editor of the *BioControl* scientific journal.

On the other hand, the research group Metabolic Integration and Cell Signaling of the UJI is led by the lecturer Víctor Flors. Their studies address the immune system of plants and the defense reactions induced against pathogens and arthropods. In addition, they have been developing techniques for the massive analysis of secondary metabolites for years, which mediate priming responses or plant conditioning as an adaptive system of innate immunity. Flors has 4,032 citations, more than seventy publications and an *h-*index of 28 (Scopus). He is a reviewer of scientific publications such as *Nature Chemical Biology*, *Plant Physiology* or *New Phytologist*, among others, and coordinator of the Induced Resistance Group of the International Organisation for Biological and Integrated Control (IOBC).

<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29466295>

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