BACKGROUND: Silicon (Si) fertilization has been well‐documented to enhance plant resistance against insect pests by increasing the abrasiveness and toughness of leaf tissues. Additionally, Si also interacts with the jasmonic acid pathway, which modulates antiherbivore induced defenses, including the emission of herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that attract natural enemies. In this study, we examined the influence of Si fertilization on the attractiveness of nocturnal HIPVs from maize plants infested with the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith), to the predatory earwig Doru luteipes (Scudder). RESULTS: In laboratory assays, we found that Si fertilization did not alter the attractiveness of nocturnal constitutive volatiles to the nocturnal predator D . luteipes . However, upon infestation with FAW larvae, Si‐fertilized plants emitted a volatile blend that was more attractive to D. luteipes . Although the composition of HIPVs emitted by non‐fertilized and Si‐fertilized plants was similar, the terpene neryl acetate was exclusively detected in the HIPV blend from Si‐fertilized plants. Tests with synthetic neryl acetate demonstrated that the terpene alone was attractive to the earwig at the specific concentration found in the HIPV blend emitted by Si‐fertilized plants. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that Si fertilization primes indirect defenses by specifically increasing the amount of neryl acetate in the HIPV blend, which is responsible for the enhanced attractiveness to the predatory earwig. Thus, Si can act as a priming agent of indirect plant defenses, potentially increasing the recruitment of the predatory earwig once plants are infested by FAW, thereby contributing to suppress insect pest populations. © 2025 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Southern red mite, Oligonychus ilicis McGregor (Acari: Tetranychidae), is an important polyphagous spider mite pest that causes economic damage to many ornamentals, coffee, and fruit crops. Blueberry growers in the Southeastern United States, including Florida and Georgia, have experienced severe losses due to outbreaks of O. ilicis. Predatory mites are an important management tool used for controlling spider mites; however, predators have not been studied and successfully evaluated in blueberry systems. Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot, and Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) are among the most economically important arthropod agents used in augmentative biological control worldwide. To evaluate the potential of these 3 commercially available predatory mites for use in blueberry plantings, we conducted experiments under controlled laboratory conditions and in the greenhouse. In preliminary laboratory experiments, P. persimilis and N. californicus significantly reduced the number of O. ilicis motile stages below those found in the untreated control, indicating the potential for these 2 predatory mite species to suppress O. ilicis populations. Amblyseius swirskii did not perform well controlling O. ilicis motiles in the laboratory. Under greenhouse conditions, N. californicus and P. persimilis significantly reduced the number of eggs after 7 days of release and the number of motile stages after 14 days of release. This is the first report of using phytoseiid mites to suppress O. ilicis in blueberry systems in the United States. Further studies on predator behavior, feeding preferences, and acaricide compatibility with predators are required to investigate the possibility of using P. persimilis, and N. californicus as biological control agents of O. ilicis in blueberry systems.