Damage to Young Leaves of Pear Trees by Bryobia rubrioculus (Scheuten) (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Nepal.

Many young leaves of Pharping local pears were injured by a mite pest, Bryobia rubrioculus. Very young leaves sustained severe browning and sometimes withering in an orchard of the Horticulture Development Project, Phase II, in Kirtipur, Nepal. The percentage of damaged buds clearly increased with mite numbers both in Pharping local pear and European pear. On Pharping local pear, the percentage of buds heavily damaged buds reached a plateau of more than 90% when there was an average of ca. 20 mites per bud. Pharping local pear blossomed first, followed by European pear, Ussurian pear and Japanese pear in that order. Since the damage lessened with delay of the bloom, B. rubrioculus is not a serious pest to Japanese pear or Ussurian pear in Kirtipur.