Seasonal incidence of invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on tomato in Karnataka, India

Abstract

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a recently invaded pest to India and causing havoc in both open field tomatoes and in protected crops. Present study was conducted to understand the influence of weather parameters on the Tuta absoluta in open field and in polyhouse tomatoes in Kharif, 2015 and Rabi, 2015-16. Infestation level of T. absoluta both in Kharif and Rabi was low during first crop phenologic cycle. Then T. absoluta density increased with age of crop under both polyhouse and field condition. In both Kharif and Rabi seasons, the incidence of T. absoluta showed the positive correlation with the maximum temperature. The adult moth trap catches per trap per week showed positive correlation with the maximum temperature in both Kharif and Rabi seasons. Based on the results it is inferred that, management should be initiated in the early growth period itself to avoid build-up of the pest in the later phenological cycle of the crop.