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Distribution, abundance and natural enemies of the invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) in Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2021

G. Kinyanjui Open the ORCID record for G. Kinyanjui [Opens in a new window] ,
F. M. Khamis ,
F. L. O. Ombura ,
E. U. Kenya ,
S. Ekesi  and
S. A. Mohamed
G. Kinyanjui*
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P. O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Department of Biological Sciences, University of Embu, P.O. Box 6-60100, Embu, Kenya
F. M. Khamis
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P. O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
F. L. O. Ombura
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P. O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
E. U. Kenya
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Embu, P.O. Box 6-60100, Embu, Kenya
S. Ekesi
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P. O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
S. A. Mohamed
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), P. O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
*
Author for correspondence: G. Kinyanjui, Email: 190@student.embuni.ac.ke
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Abstract

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) has become a serious menace to sustainable production of tomato in Kenya. A survey was conducted between April 2015 and June 2016 to determine its distribution, abundance, infestation, and damage levels on tomato, and associated natural enemies. Trap counts of T. absoluta moths were recorded in all surveyed 29 counties, which indicated its nationwide distribution irrespective of altitude. Tuta absoluta was present in both open fields and greenhouses. The highest moth/trap/day was 115.38 ± 15.90. Highest leaf infestation was 92.22% and the highest number of mines and larvae per leaf were 3.71 ± 0.28 and 2.16 ± 0.45, respectively. Trap captures in terms of moth/trap/day were linearly and positively related to leaf infestations in open fields (R2 = 0.81) and greenhouses (R2 = 0.61). Highest fruits’ infestation and damage were 60.00 and 59.61%, respectively, while the highest number of mines per fruit was 7.50 ± 0.50. Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) and Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) were identified as predators of T. absoluta larvae. Nine species of larval parasitoids were recovered from infested foliage, with a combined parasitism of 7.26 ± 0.65%. Hockeria species was the most dominant (31.25%) and accounted for 12.88 ± 1.47% parasitism. Two species of larval parasitoids, Hockeria and Necremnus were obtained from sentinel plants with an average parasitism of 1.13 ± 0.25. The overall abundance and parasitism rates of recovered natural enemies were low to effectively control the field populations of T. absoluta. These findings form the basis of researching and developing effective and sustainable management strategies for the pest.

Keywords

Abundancedistributionindigenous natural enemiesinfestation and damage levelstomatoTuta absoluta
Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 111 , Issue 6 , December 2021 , pp. 658 - 673
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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