Integrated pest management of Tuta absoluta: practical implementations across different world regions

Abstract

The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), has invaded most Afro-Eurasian countries, and is threatening worldwide tomato production. Various strategies have been developed and implemented to manage this pest species. Here we present a timely review on the up-to-date development and practical implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs for tomato crops across different regions infested by T. absoluta. While insecticide resistance is a growing concern, biological control via releasing or conserving arthropod natural enemies and sex pheromone-based biotechnical control are the most successful management practices. Agronomic control-related research is an emerging area where the soil fertilization and/or irrigation, as well as breeding of resistant cultivars, have the potential to enhance IPM efficacy. Surveys in the native areas (i.e. South America), early-invaded areas (i.e. first report between 2006-2012) and newly-invaded areas (i.e. first report after 2012) showed that the progams used by growers evolved along with the areas and time since invasion. Growers in the early-invaded areas shifted more rapidly from chemical control to biological control compared to those from the native area. For all areas, the greatest concern is related to control failure risk following chemical insecticide applications and the high cost associated with either biological or biotechnical control methods. The information gathered from the native and/or early-invaded areas may help achieve a more effective management in newly-invaded areas. Lastly, researchers are expected to break the bottlenecks of some key issues that would enable lowering application cost of novel biorational alternative management options.