Agripest
Forgot password?
Register
tutaabsoluta.com tutaabsoluta.fr tutaabsoluta.es tutaabsoluta.it tutaabsoluta.org
 Download Document Tuta Absoluta Reports

Suitability of the Pest—Plant System Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)—Tomato for Trichogramma (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) Parasitoids and Insights for Biological Control

Submitted by Agripest on 19th Jan 2014

BIOLOGICAL AND MICROBIAL CONTROL

Suitability of the Pest–Plant System Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera:

Gelechiidae)–Tomato for Trichogramma (Hymenoptera:

Trichogrammatidae) Parasitoids and Insights for Biological Control


ANAI¨S CHAILLEUX,1,2,3 ANTONIO BIONDI,1,4 PENG HAN,1 ELISABETH TABONE,5

AND NICOLAS DESNEUX1


J. Econ. Entomol. 106(6): 2310Ð2321 (2013); DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/EC13092

ABSTRACT The South American tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae),

is a major pest that has recently invaded Afro-Eurasia. Biological control, especially by Trichogramma

parasitoids, is considered to be promising as a management tool for this pest. However, further

development of Trichogramma-based biocontrol strategies would beneÞt from assessing the impact of

released parasitoid offspring on the pest. Under laboratory conditions, we 1) compared the parasitism

of Þve Trichogramma species-strains on the pestÐplant system T. absolutaÐtomato, and 2) assessed

various biological traits of parasitoids, mass-reared on a factitious host (Ephestia kuehniella Zeller),

when developing on T. absoluta. In addition, we evaluated the overall efÞciency of two speciÞc

Trichogramma species when released under greenhouse conditions in combination with a common

natural enemy in tomato crop, the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur. Parasitoids emerging from

T. absoluta on tomato showed lower parasitism rates and poor biological traits, for example, wing

deformations, reduced longevity, when compared with the control reared on the factitious host. Under

greenhouse conditions, the parasitoids that developed on T. absoluta after initial releases contributed

little to biological control of T. absoluta, and parasitism tended to be lower when the predator was

present. However, a slightly higher T. absoluta control level was achieved by combining the predator

and release of the parasitoid Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja and Nagarkatti. This study shows that

Trichogramma parasitoids may not build up populations on the T. absolutaÐtomato system, but that

Trichogramma parasitoids can be used in combination with M. pygmaeus to enhance biological control

of the pest in tomato crops.

Website counter