Efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes against the Tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in tomato field

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a very challenging pest that causes economical losses in tomato production. This devastating pest originated from South America was the first time detected in zmir province of Turkey in August 2009. The efficacy of the infective juveniles (IJs) of four native entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species, Steinernema affine (Bovien) (isolate 46), S. carpocapsae (Weiser) (isolate 1133), S. feltiae (Filipjev) (isolate 879) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Poinar) (isolate 1144) was investigated against the larvae of T. absoluta in the field during the tomato production seasons of 2012-2013 in anakkale. Individuals of T. absoluta were collected from infested tomato fields in anakkale and mass produced on tomato plants in a climate controlled room. EPNs were isolated from different parts of Turkey and mass produced by using Galleria mellonella larvae in the laboratory. The tomato leaf miners were exposed to each nematode species at the rate of 50 IJs/cm 2 on tomato plants in cages. T. absoluta were susceptible to all EPNs tested but the degree of susceptibility of the larvae to EPN infection varied according to the species. The most effective nematode species on T. absoluta larvae was S. feltiae (isolate 879) with 90.7% and 94.3% mortality in 2012 and 2013, respectively, whereas the least effective species was S. affine (isolate 46) with 39.3% and 43.7% mortality in 2012 and 2013, respectively. EPNs can be potential canditates to control tomato leafminer, so the integration possibility of these biological agents into the T. absoluta management programme is discussed.