How to deal with the South American tomato moth (PHOTO)?
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TOMATO MOTH - HOW TO FIGHT AND HOW TO WIN?
This year, nightshade crops have been mercilessly attacked South American tomato moth (Tula Absoluta).
The consequences of the spread of this dangerous quarantine pest were especially strongly felt by the owners of household plots in the southern regions of the country. The hidden way of life, as well as the high rate of adaptation to various insecticides, makes it difficult to identify the insect and fight it. Getting into favorable conditions, this insidious pest multiplies en masse and becomes a real disaster, because in a fairly short time it can completely destroy the tomato crop.
The homeland of the pest is South America, but in recent years it has been actively spreading in Europe and the Mediterranean countries. As of January 2018, the area of tomato moth infestation was 829 ha.
If weather conditions, in particular cold winters, in the northern regions of our country can still restrain the development of a harmful insect, then the mild climate in the southern regions contributes to its further spread.
The main forage crop of the pest is tomato, but the phytophage can cause significant damage to eggplants, peppers, potatoes and other wild and ornamental representatives of the nightshade family. Tomato moth damages plants both in open and protected ground.
The pest is often found in tomatoes imported from Turkey. Spain, Egypt and Morocco, which increases the risk of tomato moth in new territories and complicates its control. Tomato moth also spreads through seedlings, packaging material, soil and containers.
Butterfly moth is small (6-7 mm), gray-brown, with black spots on the front wings and long filiform antennae on the head. Its wingspan is 8-10 mm. Males are darker than females. Adults are nocturnal, during the daytime they hide among the leaves.
The tomato moth has a fairly high reproductive potential, during the year it is able to give 10-12 generations. The duration of development of one generation depends on temperature and is 29-38 days under natural conditions. At a temperature of 25-27 ° C, development takes 23 days, at 14 ° C - 75 days.
The life cycle of tomato moth includes the following stages: egg, 3 stages of larva, pupa and adult. The duration of the development of stages is: egg - 4-5 days, larva -
13-15 days, pupa - 9-11 days. The life expectancy of males is 6-7 days, females - 10-15 days. The full life cycle of tomato moth lasts 30-40 days.
The fertility of females is 250-300 eggs, which she lays mainly on the underside of the leaves. The egg is small, oval-cylindrical, creamy white.
A caterpillar that has just hatched from an egg is milky white or yellowish with a black head, an adult is brown with a pink back. Adult caterpillars grow up to 9 mm and by that time go through four stages of development (molting). Caterpillars emerge from the eggs and immediately penetrate the plant tissue, where they immediately begin to feed, creating damage in the form of mines. At first, the holes from the caterpillars are barely visible, but over time, the damaged parts begin to blacken as a result of the accumulation of excrement there. Caterpillar mines increase as the caterpillar itself grows. It can completely eat leaves, leaving only veins in their place.
WHAT THE TOMATO MOTH ITSELF AND THE TOMATOES DAMAGED BY IT LOOK LIKE
1. This is how mines look - places damaged by tomato moths. 2. Butterfly South American tomato moth.
Caterpillars damage plants during the entire growing season, from germination to fruit ripening. All above-ground organs are used: leaves, stems, flowers, ovaries and fruits. Once inside the fruit, the caterpillar contributes to its decay.
Feeding on the soft tissues of plants, the pest can be a carrier of secondary infections.
Subsequently, the caterpillars pupate inside damaged leaves or in the soil. Before pupation, the caterpillar weaves a silk cocoon or makes it in the form of rolled leaves. The pupa is light brown, about 6 mm long.
The caterpillar does not enter diapause as long as there is a food base. The pest hibernates in the stage of eggs, larvae, pupa and adults.
HOW TO FIGHT TOMATO MOTH?
PROTECTIVE MEASURES
In the fight against tomato moth, it is necessary to comply with quarantine restrictions and carry out a set of agrotechnical, chemical and biological measures.
It is forbidden to import seed and fruits of tomatoes and other nightshade crops from areas inhabited by the pest.
For the timely detection of a quarantine pest, it is necessary to conduct a systematic examination of solanaceous crops, primarily tomatoes, during the growing season, as well as fruits in storage. In the zones of potential and possible harmfulness from July to August, using pheromone traps (30-40 traps per 1 ha), a control survey of nightshade crops is carried out.
Planting nightshade crops should be carried out only with healthy seedlings. To prevent the spread of the pest, it is necessary to observe crop rotation: return nightshade crops to their original place no earlier than after 4-5 years. The best predecessors for them are cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, squash, turnips, cabbage, green onions, carrots, beets and green manure herbs.
Agricultural practices will help prevent the spread of tomato moth:
- Timely tillage;
- Two-time cultivation of the soil in two tracks to remove weeds, which are the primary food base of the pest;
- Collection and removal of plant residues.
In the fight against tomato moth, lepidocide (3 l / ha) is most often used. During the growing season, it is necessary to carry out two treatments with an interval of 7 days. Industrial crops are recommended to be sprayed twice with the insecticide Belt 480, SC KS (0,1 l / ha). Treatment with this drug should be stopped 14 days before harvest.
Such measures will help protect nightshade plants from pests and get quality products.
Reference by topic: Tomato miner moth - pest control (Krasnodar Territory)
TOMATO MOTH AND WHITEFLY - HOW TO GET RID OF THE PEST? VIDEO
© Author: Anna TKALENKO
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