Effect of ground-cover management on spider mites and their phytoseiid natural enemies in clementine mandarin orchards (I): Bottom-up regulation mechanisms

► Ground cover management affects mite populations in citrus orchards. ► Nature of ground cover can affect the success of mite colonization of the trees. ► Successful colonization was associated with highly diverse covers. ► Unsuccessful colonization was associated with a mono-specific Poaceae cover. ► Selection of a specialist host race in mono-specific cover could explain results.