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Natural enemies of the South American moth, Tuta absoluta, in Europe, North Africa and Middle East, and their potential use in pest control strategies

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Abstract

The South American tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is an invasive Neotropical pest. After its first detection in Europe, it rapidly invaded more than 30 Western Palaearctic countries becoming a serious agricultural threat to tomato production in both protected and open-field crops. Among the pest control tactics against exotic pests, biological control using indigenous natural enemies is one of the most promising. Here, available data on the Afro-Eurasian natural enemies of T. absoluta are compiled. Then, their potential for inclusion in sustainable pest control packages is discussed providing relevant examples. Collections were conducted in 12 countries, both in open-field and protected susceptible crops, as well as in wild flora and/or using infested sentinel plants. More than 70 arthropod species, 20 % predators and 80 % parasitoids, were recorded attacking the new pest so far. Among the recovered indigenous natural enemies, only few parasitoid species, namely, some eulophid and braconid wasps, and especially mirid predators, have promising potential to be included in effective and environmentally friendly management strategies for the pest in the newly invaded areas. Finally, a brief outlook of the future research and applications of indigenous T. absoluta biological control agents are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agri-food and Environmental Systems Management, University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania, Italy

    Lucia Zappalà, Antonio Biondi & Gaetano Siscaro

  2. French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), 400 Route des Chappes, 06903, Sophia-Antipolis, France

    Antonio Biondi, Anaïs Chailleux & Nicolas Desneux

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari (DISAFA), University of Torino, via L. da Vinci 44, 10095, Grugliasco, TO, Italy

    Alberto Alma & Luciana Tavella

  4. Department of Plant Protections, University of Baghdad, Abu Ghraib, Iraq

    Ibrahim J. Al-Jboory

  5. Department of Entomology, IRTA, Ctra. Cabrils km.2, 08348, Cabrils, Barcelona, Spain

    Judit Arnò

  6. Plant Protection Department, Agriculture Faculty, Dicle University, 21280, Diyarbakir, Turkey

    Ahmet Bayram

  7. Department of Economic Entomology and Pesticides, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

    Ashraf El-Arnaouty

  8. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Dan Gerling

  9. Department of Agronomy, University Ibn Badis of Mostaganem, 27000, Mostaganem, Algeria

    Yamina Guenaoui

  10. Northern R&D, Migal–Galilee Research Institute, P.O.B. 831, 11016, Kiryat Shmona, Israel

    Liora Shaltiel-Harpaz

  11. Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Arch. Kyprianos 30, 3036, Limassol, Cyprus

    Menelaos Stavrinides

  12. Instituto Agroforestal del Mediterráneo (IAM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 40622, Valencia, Spain

    Rosa Vercher Aznar

  13. Departamento de Entomología, Centro de Protección Vegetal, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Moncada, Valencia, Spain

    Alberto Urbaneja

Authors
  1. Lucia Zappalà
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  2. Antonio Biondi
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  3. Alberto Alma
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  4. Ibrahim J. Al-Jboory
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  5. Judit Arnò
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  6. Ahmet Bayram
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  7. Anaïs Chailleux
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  8. Ashraf El-Arnaouty
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  9. Dan Gerling
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  10. Yamina Guenaoui
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  11. Liora Shaltiel-Harpaz
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  12. Gaetano Siscaro
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  13. Menelaos Stavrinides
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  14. Luciana Tavella
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  15. Rosa Vercher Aznar
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  16. Alberto Urbaneja
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  17. Nicolas Desneux
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Desneux.

Additional information

Communicated by M. Traugott.

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Zappalà, L., Biondi, A., Alma, A. et al. Natural enemies of the South American moth, Tuta absoluta, in Europe, North Africa and Middle East, and their potential use in pest control strategies. J Pest Sci 86, 635–647 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-013-0531-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-013-0531-9

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