Angl. resumé

Small volume experiments with varying formula were set up into photoeclectors in the greenhouse of the Biology Centre AS CR to find an optimal technology of composting leaves of horse chestnut, in which Cameraria ohridella hibernates. Part of the work is measurements of infested leaf, presence of horse chestnut in the České Budějovice district and estimating the volume of the leaves for composting. The results show very high mortality of Cameraria ohridella. This was observed when the compost was covered even with a small layer of soil.

Ph.D. thesis is focused on the study of ecology and interactions among fungal disease horse chestnut leaf blotch, Guignardia aesculi, invasive pest horse chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella, and predatory mites of family Phytoseiidae. Ph.D. thesis consists of two main parts: 1) a detailed background research, and 2) six separate original published papers or manuscripts describing results of my own studies. The first study investigated spatial distribution of the first generation of C. ohridella in the urban environment in relation to the pest, the mortality of overwintering pupae at the end of vegetation season and the number of hatched C. ohridella and its parasitoids at the beginning of the following vegetation season. The second paper describes the interaction between C. ohridella and G. aesculi during vegetation season. The third and fourth papers deal with the effect of specific microctimatic conditions in site on the damage inflicted to horse chestnut leaves by G. aesculi. In addition, spatial distribution of G. aesculi in urban environment was studied. The fifth paper compared the species composition and the population density of Phytoseiidae between the Czech Republic and Greece. The sixth study described the species composition, abundance, population dynamics and sex ratio of phytoseiid mites inhabiting horse chestnut. The study also investigated, whether the abundance of predatory mites on horse chestnut leaves can be influenced by leaf damage caused by the horse chestnut leaf miner or G. aesculi during vegetation season.