Tuta absoluta
| Tuta absoluta | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Gelechiidae |
| Genus: | Tuta |
| Species: | T. absoluta |
| Binomial name | |
| Tuta absoluta Meyrick, 1917 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Tuta absoluta is a species of moth in family Gelechiidae known by the common names tomato leafminer and South American tomato moth. It is well-known as a serious pest of tomato crops in Europe and South America.
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[edit] Biology
The larva feeds voraciously upon tomato plants, producing large galleries in leaves, burrowing in stalks, and consuming apical buds and green and ripe fruits. It is capable of causing a yield loss of 100%[1].
Tomato is the main host plant, but T. absoluta also attacks other crop plants of the nightshade family, including potato, eggplant, pepino and tobacco.[2] It is known from many solanaceous weeds, including Datura stramonium, Lycium chilense, and Solanum nigrum.
The adult moth has a wingspan around one centimeter. In favorable weather conditions eight to ten generations can occur in a single year.
[edit] Global Spread
This moth was first known as a tomato pest in many South American countries. In 2006, it was identified in Spain. The following year it was detected in France, Italy, Greece, Malta, Morocco, Algeria, and Libya. In 2009 Turkey started to experience Tuta absoluta damages in Turkish farms and greenhouses.
[edit] Management
Some populations of T. absoluta have developed resistance to organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides[3]. Newer compounds such as spinosad[citation needed], imidacloprid[citation needed], and Bacillus thuringiensis[4] have demonstrated some efficacy in controlling European outbreaks of this moth.
Experiments have revealed some promising agents of biological pest control for this moth, including Nabis pseudoferus, a species of damsel bug[5].
The sex pheromone for Tuta absoluta has been identified by researchers at Cornell University and has been found to be highly attractive to male moths. Pheromone lures are used extensively throughout Europe, South America, North Africa and the Middle East for the monitoring and mass-trapping of Tuta absoluta. The making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing of products based on the sex pheromone of the Tuta absoluta is protected by a United States Patent[6], which is exclusively licensed to ISCA Technologies and its distributors.
[edit] References
- ^ Apablaza J, 1992. La polilla del tomate y su manejo. Tattersal 79, 12–13.
- ^ Desneux, Nicolas (2010). "Biological invasion of European crops by Tuta abosluta: ecology, geographic expansion and prospects for biological control". Journal of Pest Science 83: 197–215.
- ^ Lietti, M. M. M., E. Botto, and R. A. Alzogaray. 2005. Insecticide Resistance in Argentine Populations of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Neotropical Entomology 34(1):113-119.
- ^ Gonzalez-Cabrera J, Molla O, Monton H, Urbaneja A. 2011. Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) for controlling the tomato borer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Biocontrol 56, 71–80.
- ^ Molla O, Gonzalez-Cabrera J, Urbaneja A. 2011. The combined use of Bacillus thuringiensis and Nesidiocoris tenuis against the tomato borer Tuta absoluta. Biocontrol. (in press).
- ^ http://www.cctec.cornell.edu/technology/products/iscalure-web.pdf
[edit] External links
- ISCA Technologies
- Russell IPM : Tuta absoluta
- Tuta absoluta information network
- EPPO Gallery Tuta absoluta
- YouTube Tuta absoluta cicle biològic en tomàquet- Short movie of development
- Tuta absoluta Agrotypos S.A. video (in Greek)
- Tuta absoluta Agrotypos S.A. article (in Greek)
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