<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Tomato (<italic>Solanum esculentum</italic>) is one of the vegetable crops grown by both smallholder and commercial farmers in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Tomato leaf miner, <italic>Tuta absoluta</italic> M. is a major insect pest of tomatoes resulting in reduced tomato yields throughout the country. The study investigated the virulence of two sub-tropical EPN species on <italic>T. absoluta</italic> larvae. <italic>Steinernema yirgalemense</italic> and <italic>S. jeffreyense</italic> at different concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60 IJs/insect) were screened for efficacy (i.e. mortality rate) against larvae of <italic>T. absoluta</italic> in laboratory bioassays. Results obtained showed that <italic>S. yirgalemense</italic> and <italic>S. jeffreyense</italic> were able to kill <italic>T. absoluta</italic> larvae without significant differences between the two EPN species in 24-well bioassay trays. Significantly higher (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) mortality was observed when 60 IJs/insect was used. The combination of <italic>S. yirgalemense</italic> at 60 IJs/insect (100%) and <italic>S. jeffreyense</italic> at 60 IJs/insect (98.3%) resulted in significantly higher (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) mortality, compared with the other four combinations of EPN and concentration tested. In the leaf bioassays, <italic>S. yirgalemense</italic> (58.8%) resulted in significantly higher (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) mean mortality compared to <italic>S. jeffreyense</italic> (46.4%). <italic>Steinernema yirgalemense</italic> at 60 IJs/insect resulted in significantly higher mean mortality compared to the other EPN and concentration combinations in the leaf bioassay. The results indicated that both EPNs tested were effective against <italic>T. absoluta</italic> larvae. <italic>Steinernema yirgalemense</italic> at 60 IJs/insect can effectively find <italic>T. absoluta</italic> larvae inside leaf mines, but large-scale field trials are recommended to demonstrate the potential use of the biocontrol agent within integrated pest management programs.</p>
</abstract>

Tomato (Solanum esculentum) is one of the vegetable crops grown by both smallholder and commercial farmers in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta M. is a major insect pest of tomatoes resulting in reduced tomato yields throughout the country. The study investigated the virulence of two sub-tropical EPN species on T. absoluta larvae. Steinernema yirgalemense and S. jeffreyense at different concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60 IJs/insect) were screened for efficacy (i.e. mortality rate) against larvae of T. absoluta in laboratory bioassays. Results obtained showed that S. yirgalemense and S. jeffreyense were able to kill T. absoluta larvae without significant differences between the two EPN species in 24-well bioassay trays. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) mortality was observed when 60 IJs/insect was used. The combination of S. yirgalemense at 60 IJs/insect (100%) and S. jeffreyense at 60 IJs/insect (98.3%) resulted in significantly higher (p < 0.05) mortality, compared with the other four combinations of EPN and concentration tested. In the leaf bioassays, S. yirgalemense (58.8%) resulted in significantly higher (p < 0.05) mean mortality compared to S. jeffreyense (46.4%). Steinernema yirgalemense at 60 IJs/insect resulted in significantly higher mean mortality compared to the other EPN and concentration combinations in the leaf bioassay. The results indicated that both EPNs tested were effective against T. absoluta larvae. Steinernema yirgalemense at 60 IJs/insect can effectively find T. absoluta larvae inside leaf mines, but large-scale field trials are recommended to demonstrate the potential use of the biocontrol agent within integrated pest management programs.

Control of the tomato leaf miner, <italic>Tuta absoluta</italic> (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) larvae in laboratory using entomopathogenic nematodes from subtropical environment

Journal of Nematology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Control of the tomato leaf miner,  (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) larvae in laboratory using entomopathogenic nematodes from subtropical environment

running-head

Tomato (Solanum esculentum) is one of the vegetable crops grown by both smallholder and commercial farmers in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Tomato leaf miner, Tuta...

Species name	Strain	Habitat	Locality	GenBank accession number	Length of IJ (µm)	Body width of IJ (µm)	Reference
S. yirgalemense	157-C	Citrus orchard	Friedenheim, Mpumalanga	EU625295	685 (570–740)	29 (24–33)	Malan et al. (2011)
S. jeffreyense	J194	Guava tree	Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape	KC897093	924 (784–1043)	35 (23–43)	Malan et al. (2016)

Control of the tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) larvae in laboratory using entomopathogenic nematodes from subtropical environment

Published Online: Mar 06, 2020

Page range: 1 - 8

Received: Jul 17, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-013

Keywords
Biological control, Tomato,

© 2020 Bonginkhosi E. Dlamini et al., published by Sciendo.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

List and characteristics of the Steinernema species used in the study.

Control of the tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) larvae in laboratory using entomopathogenic nematodes from subtropical environment

Published Online: Mar 06, 2020

Page range: 1 - 8

Received: Jul 17, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-013

KeywordsBiological control, Tomato,

© 2020 Bonginkhosi E. Dlamini et al., published by Sciendo.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

List and characteristics of the Steinernema species used in the study.

Keywords
Biological control, Tomato,