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Efficiency of spinosad, Bacillus thuringiensis and Trichogramma brassicae against the tomato leafminer in greenhouse

BioControl volume 63, pages 619–627 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three eco-friendly control agents, either singly or in a pairwise combination, for the control of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lep: Gelechiidae). They include the naturally derived pesticide spinosad, a commercially available formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki (Bt), and a native population of Trichogramma brassicae Bezdenko (Hym: Trichogrammatidae). Tomato plants containing the T. absoluta were treated with one of the seven following treatments in a greenhouse: (1) a single release of T. brassicae against the eggs; (2) two applications of Bt (2 kg ha−1); (3) and (4) one application of spinosad at two rates (60 and 120 g a.i. ha−1); (5) T. brassicae release + Bt spray; (6) T. brassicae release + spinosad spray; and (7) spinosad spray + Bt spray. The highest mortality rate was recorded for the spinosad + Bt (88.33 ± 1.43%) and T. brassicae + spinosad (78.33 ± 3.74%) combinations, respectively; while the lowest mortality rate was obtained through the single application of T. brassicae (31.67 ± 4.84%). Based on our results, the Bt and spinosad seem to be suitable candidates for combination with other biological and cultural techniques towards an integrated management of the tomato leafminer.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection (IRIPP) for providing biological agents and experimental materials. This study was financially supported by the University of Tehran. We thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Abouraihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Arsalan Jamshidnia, Saba Abdoli & Reza Sadeghi

  2. Biological Control Research Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

    Shahram Farrokhi

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  1. Arsalan Jamshidnia
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  2. Saba Abdoli
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  3. Shahram Farrokhi
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  4. Reza Sadeghi
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Correspondence to Arsalan Jamshidnia.

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Jamshidnia, A., Abdoli, S., Farrokhi, S. et al. Efficiency of spinosad, Bacillus thuringiensis and Trichogramma brassicae against the tomato leafminer in greenhouse. BioControl 63, 619–627 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-018-9893-5

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Keywords

  • Bacillus thuringiensis
  • Trichogramma brassicae
  • Tuta absoluta
  • Spinosad