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Effectiveness of mating disruption applied alone or in combination with bioinsecticides against Tuta absoluta in heated greenhouse tomato crops of southern Tunisia

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Abstract

The South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) has been considered among the most economically important pests affecting greenhouse crops heated by geothermal water in southern Tunisia. In this context, we studied from September 2019 to July 2020, the effectiveness of the mating disruption technique using Isonet®T dispensers and the attract-and-kill device SPLAT®TUTA against this pest in cherry tomato crops. The three biorational control options tested, Isonet®T alone (installed at transplanting), insecticide + Isonet®T (installed in January) and SPLAT®TUTA + insecticide, showed a high effectiveness against T. absoluta populations. Their field application resulted in a decrease in the number of T. absoluta males captured in water traps by 87.23%, 87.13% and 83.50%, in the egg number by 85.97%, 90.78% and 86%, and in the number of larvae by 65.35%, 65.61% and 80.36%, respectively, as compared to the untreated control. In addition, the use of the three control options reduced the infestation on leaves and fruits by more than 77.17% and 71.21%, respectively. The application of mating disruption and the use of biopesticides significantly reduced leaf and fruit damage. The percentage reduction in leaf and fruit damage was more than 77.17% and 71.21%, respectively, for the three treatments compared with the untreated control. On the other hand, the leaf and fruit infestation percentages did not exceed 12% and 2% for the three treatments, respectively. The study showed that mating disruption applied alone or in combination with bioinsecticides against T. absoluta was effective in heated greenhouses in southern Tunisia. This technique could be a key sustainable option of integrated pest management in tomato crops.

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Abbreviations

IPM :

Integrated Pest Management

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Acknowledgements

The authors are especially grateful to “Zina fresh” company for providing all the resources needed for this study.

Funding

This research was funded by “Zina fresh” company and by the Technical Center for Protected and Geothermal Crops, Gabes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dryland and Oases Cropping Laboratory, Arid regions Institute, Street El Jorf, 4119, Medenine, Tunisia

    Sabrine Chouikhi, Besma Hamrouni Assadi, Refki Ettaib & Mohamed Sadok Belkadhi

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Gabes, 6072, Gabes, Tunisia

    Sabrine Chouikhi

  3. Laboratoire d’Entomologie-Acarologie, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, University of Carthage, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, 1082, Cité Mahrajène, Tunis, Tunisia

    Kaouthar Grissa Lebdi

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  1. Sabrine Chouikhi
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  2. Besma Hamrouni Assadi
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Correspondence to Sabrine Chouikhi.

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Chouikhi, S., Assadi, B.H., Ettaib, R. et al. Effectiveness of mating disruption applied alone or in combination with bioinsecticides against Tuta absoluta in heated greenhouse tomato crops of southern Tunisia. Phytoparasitica 51, 521–532 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-023-01080-z

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