Spatial and temporal variation in the control failure likelihood of the tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta

Abstract

Insecticide resistance is frequently associated with field control failure, but such an assessment of its likelihood seldom occurs. This phenomenon is a potential cause of the control failure of the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae); therefore we surveyed insecticide resistance as the control failure likelihood for a duration of 7 years in 20 field populations of this species. The insecticide label rate was used as the discriminating concentration, and the minimum efficacy threshold required for insecticides in Brazil (i.e. 80% efficacy) was the targeted efficacy. The spatial and temporal variations of the control failure likelihood were also assessed, as was the potential influence of land topography for the area‐wide pattern observed. Most populations of T. absoluta were susceptible to abamectin, chlorfenapyr and spinosad and not to bifenthrin, triflumuron and teflubenzuron. The indoxacarb susceptibility varied in space and time. Spatial dependence was observed for abamectin and indoxacarb. The control failure likelihood of T. absoluta was higher for bifenthrin, triflumuron and teflubenzuron. A flat topography and the wind direction may favour the spread of the control failure likelihood and should be considered in designing pest management programs for T. absoluta.

First report of tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in Botswana

“…The insect pest has been reported being on a downward incursion from north Africa towards the south, and this may have been promoted by its high reproductive capacity [46], wide host range [31], wide developmental thermal windows [29,30], continuous vegetable production across political borders, absence of effective surveillance and monitoring systems, lack of effective sanitary and phytosanitary measures and increase in intra-continental trade [47]. Moreover, resistance to conventional and new chemicals [48,49] has been reported as a contributing factor towards its invasion success [15,50]. In addition, African ecological and climatic conditions are similar to those of South American countries [16], suggesting that T. absoluta may establish and invade other countries in the southern African region.…”

Resistance to neurotoxic insecticides in populations of the coffee leafminer Leucoptera coffeella

“…Studies have shown a strong relationship between collection distance and resistance patterns [44,10,45,12]. All of these studies showed significant association of resistance with distance, and nearby populations tended to show more similar responses, as is the case for P. xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae).…”

“…Lepidopteran species such as Alabama argillacea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) [10], Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) [11], and Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) [12] have shown resistance to several groups of insecticides. These authors studied insect populations from different locations, using different groups of insecticides with varying mechanisms of action.…”

Tomato leafminer [(Tuta absoluta Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)] and its current ecofriendly management strategies: A review

“…The pest had accessed to Ethiopia in 2012 most probably from Sudan or Yemen (Goftishu et al, 2014) and Kenya in 2013 , Tanzania and Senegal in 2014 (Biondi et al, 2015;Tonnang et al, 2015), Uganda in 2015 (Tumuhaise et al, 2016), South Africa in 2016 (Visser et al, 2017). The main spread vehicle for this invasive insect species was natural dispersal means, such as wind (Gontijo et al, 2013;Sridhar et al, 2014) and human fruit and vegetable translocation processes in local and abroad markets (Karadjova et al, 2013).…”