The Life and Fertility Tables a Promising Strategy method for management of tomato leaf miner moth, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract

Tomato leaf miner moth, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is one of the most dangerous insects that affect tomato. It attacks this crop from the seedling stage until maturity. The life cycle and life and fertility tables of this insect were studied under laboratory conditions at temperature of 20.09-26.13˚C and R.H. 60-80% and a light duration between 9-10 hr. The obtained results showed that the female fecundity was 122.4 egg/female throughout the life span of the female adult during the third generation, with daily average of 16.1 egg/female/day. Also the third generation had a higher mean of oviposition period (7.6 days), female longevity average (12.6 days) and percentage for final survival capacity (97.72%) than that of the first and second generations. Results of laboratory studies concerning the life and fertility tables of tomato leaf miner moth were similar to the results of insect biological studies for the three generations mentioned above. These results indicated that the age interval was 48 days, and the population density decreased gradually from the fifth day until the end of the study. The higher rate of insect survival was 82.72 during the egg stage, and the higher mortality percentage was 36.54 in the pupal stage. The accumulative percentage of mortality during the whole generation (40.19 day) started from the egg stage and it increased to reach 48 in the pupal stage. Whereas the daily fecundity rate was 16.5 in the day 38 from the life time of insect, and this was a higher level for insect fecundity per day. The daily production of female offspring reached 6.44 during the life time of insect. The results indicated that there was an increase in the population due to the net reproduction rate (Rₒ) which was more than one (25.48 female) and the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) reached a higher level (0.081). This means that the laboratory conditions especially temperature (24.70-26.13˚C) was suitable for laboratory rearing of the insect. The time required for doubling population was 8.60 days, and through calculation a hundred female of tomato leaf miner moth can produce 2548.095 female per one generation, and 1,654,425 female per three generations. These results indicated that the destroying capacity of tomato leaf miner moth can reach up to 100% on the tomato crop.