The combined use of Bacillus thuringiensis and Nesidiocoris tenuis against the tomato borer Tuta absoluta
By Ó. Mollá, J. González-Cabrera, A. Urbaneja. BioControl (Dordrecht), 2011
151 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Since Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) was first detected at the end of 2006 in the Mediterranean Basin, several endemic natural enemies have been reported to prey on this exotic pest. The predator Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae) can regulate T. absoluta populations, because it is able to prey efficiently on T. absoluta eggs. Furthermore, previous studies have demonstrated that first-instar larvae of T. absoluta are highly susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) treatments. In this work, we tested the combination of both approaches under greenhouse conditions. B. thuringiensis formulations were sprayed weekly for two months, three months or throughout the growing cycle, and in all cases, one N. tenuis per plant was also released. Control plants were completely destroyed by the infestation levels reached by T. absoluta. In contrast, all treatments based on B. thuringiensis treatments and releases of N. tenuis reduced leaf damage by more than 97% when compared to the untreated control, with no significant differences among them. Furthermore, yield in the control plants was significantly reduced when compared with all Bt–N. tenuis treatments. Our results demonstrate that when B. thuringiensis treatments are applied immediately after the initial detection of T. absoluta on plants, they do not interfere with N. tenuis establishment in the crop because T. absoluta eggs are available. According to our data, treatments with B. thuringiensis later in the growing season would no longer be necessary because mirids alone would control the pest.
Subfields: Insect Science, Molecular Biology, Plant Science
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3e73a6eded77ab6bcc990014a223c30e3154c1da
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Citations in the corpus
- Ecology, Worldwide Spread, and Management of the Invasive South American Tomato Pinworm, Tuta absoluta: Past, Present, and Future. (2018, background): “absoluta eggs and young larvae, slowing down and/or suppressing pest population establishment and growth in tomato crops (80, 94).”
- Natural enemies of the South American moth, Tuta absoluta, in Europe, North Africa and Middle East, and their potential use in pest control strategies (2013, background): “Some of these, mainly native Miridae, have been already employed in integrated pest management (IPM) strategies (Castañé et al. 2011; Mollá et al. 2011; Cabello et al. 2012; Zappalà et al. 2012b; Chailleux et al. 2013a).”
- The entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana has epiphytic and endophytic activity against the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (2016, background): “…parasitoids and predators (Ferracini et al. 2012; Biondi et al. 2013; Chailleux et al. 2013), microbial antagonists like Bacillus thuringiensis (Gonzalez-Cabrera et al. 2011; Ladurner et al. 2011; Contreras et al. 2014) and the combined use of different control strategies (Molla et al. 2011).”
- The Zoophytophagous Predator Nesidiocoris tenuis: A Successful But Controversial Biocontrol Agent in Tomato Crops (2016, background): “However, reaching this number of natural enemies requires five to eight weeks after the release in spring-summer crops (Mollá et al. 2011).”
- Preplant release of Nesidiocoris tenuis and supplementary tactics for control of Tuta absoluta and Bemisa tabaci in greenhouse tomato (2012, background): “…Berliner (Bt) and the T. abosluta-egg parasite Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja & Nagarkatti (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) can also provide good control of T. absoluta in tomato greenhouses (Giustolin et al., 2001; Desneux et al., 2010; González-Cabrera et al., 2011; Mollá et al., 2011).”
- Prospects for predatory mirid bugs as biocontrol agents of aphids in sweet peppers (2015, background): “…Dicyphus maroccanus Wagner, together with M. pygmaeus, have been detected preying on aphids and other agricultural pests, such as spider mites, thrips, and lepidopterans in protected sweet pepper crops of southeastern Spain (Jacas et al. 2008; Gonzalez-Cabrera et al. 2011; Molla et al. 2011, 2014).”
- Efficacy of sulphur on Tuta absoluta and its side effects on the predator Nesidiocoris tenuis (2012, background): “Bacillus thuringiensis, for example, showed no effect on mirid establishment either in the greenhouse or in open-field experiments (GonzálezCabrera et al. 2011; Mollá et al. 2011).”