Preplant release of Nesidiocoris tenuis and supplementary tactics for control of Tuta absoluta and Bemisa tabaci in greenhouse tomato

Abstract

An early release system developed for Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Heteroptera: Miridae) could provide a good control of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato. Tuta absoluta and the whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) often appear simultaneously in tomato crops and this might affect control capacity. Therefore, the new approach needs to be tested in a situation with both pests present. In addition, Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner and Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja & Nagarkatti (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) have been shown to be effective against T. absoluta and could be a supplement to N. tenuis. Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the potential of this approach and its combination with supplementary control agents against T. absoluta. In the first experiment four treatments were compared (T. absoluta, B. tabaci, T. absoluta + N. tenuis, and T. absoluta + B. tabaci + N. tenuis) and N. tenuis was able to control T. absoluta and B. tabaci either alone or together. In the second experiment, five treatments were compared: T. absoluta, T. absoluta + N. tenuis, T. absoluta + N. tenuis + T. achaeae, T. absoluta + N. tenuis + B. thuringiensis, and T. absoluta + N. tenuis + T. achaeae + B. thuringiensis. Nesidiocoris tenuis again proved capable of significantly reducing T. absoluta populations, and the implementation of additional agents did not increase its effectiveness.

Prospects for predatory mirid bugs as biocontrol agents of aphids in sweet peppers

“…During the last decade, biological control strategies for various major pests have been successfully implemented in greenhouse crops in southern Europe (Calvo et al 2009(Calvo et al , 2011(Calvo et al , 2012avan Lenteren 2012). The two most recent and remarkable successes of biological control have occurred in tomato and sweet pepper production in southeastern Spain.…”

Defensive plant responses induced by Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) on tomato plants

“…During the last decade, biological control programs using 492 mirids (Calvo et al 2012a), which can feed on both plant 493 tissues and insect prey (Castañé et al 2011), have been 494 effectively implemented in greenhouse tomatoes and other 495 crops. To date, the success of these predators has been 496 mainly attributed to their efficient predation of a wide 497 range of important pests Calvo et al 498 2012b;P érez-Hedo and Urbaneja 2014) and to their phy-499 tophagy (Calvo et al 2009), which allows them to become 500 established prior to pest appearance and to maintain their 501 populations in periods of prey scarcity.…”

Batı Akdeniz Bölgesi’nde Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) ile biyolojik mücadele olanaklarının araştırılması

“…Therefore, it is believed that additional releases would be appropriate in the spring, depending on the pest intensity. Calvo et al (2012) recommended that applications of N. tenuis with T. achaeae, and with N. tenuis, T. achaeae and Bacillus thuringiensis have no additional positive effect on T. absoluta compared to releasing N. tenuis alone. In addition, offspring of Trichogramma developed on T. absoluta eggs displayed low parasitism and poor biological traits.…”

“…However, the prominent non-chemical control method for T. absoluta is biological control. Many studies have been conducted using predators, such as Nabis pseudoferus Remane, 1949(Cabello et al, 2009b, Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter, 1895) (Calvo et al, 2012), and parasitoids, such as Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja & Nagarkatti, 1969(Cabello et al, 2009aChailleux et al, 2013), Trichogramma euproctidis (Girault, 1911) and T. evanescens (Chailleux et al, 2013). Most of these studies were conducted over a short-term period, and were laboratory or semi-field studies.…”