The development of new strategies to control pest insects is required, in combination with conventional pesticides or replacing them. Essential oils produced from botanical extracts used in management programs should be effective against pests and selective to natural enemies. Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most destructive pests of solanaceous crops in the world, and a possible management strategy consists of releases of the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae), along with botanical applications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Prev-am ® oil on T. absoluta offspring, either with or without the predator N. tenuis, as well as the oil's effects on N. tenuis predatory behavior and longevity. The oil's effects were compared with distilled water (control) and a synthetic pesticide (lambdacyhalothrin). The response of populations to lambda-cyhalothrin was similar to that with Prev-am ® , compared to the control, showing that N. tenuis had higher capacity to reduce T. absoluta populations. The survival analysis of predators exposed to Prev-am ® indicates that none of the concentrations differed significantly from the control. In addition, the canonical variate analysis indicated significant overall differences in the predator behavior submitted to different treatments, suggesting that synthetic pesticide treatment affected predator behavior when compared to control and Prev-am ® . Reduction in predatory voracity of N. tenuis adults exposed to leaves treated with pesticide and biopesticide was significant compared to the control treatment. The results obtained could improve IPM programs against T. absoluta through the Prev-am ® applications and N. tenuis releases.Keywords Natural product · Predatory mirid · South American tomato pinworm · Ecotoxicology · Biological control
Key message• New strategies based on the use of natural enemies and biopesticides to control Tuta absoluta are desirable for integrated pest management (IPM). • The combination of Nesidiocoris tenuis with Prev-am ® (at half of the recommended concentration) showed enhanced efficacy against T. absoluta. • Presence of N. tenuis significantly reduced T. absoluta population growth. • Lambda-cyhalothrin and Prev-am ® could disturb behavioral response of N. tenuis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.