Control of the XXXX Leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in Open-Field Tomatoes by Indigenous Natural Enemies Occurring in Israel.

@entity2194 @entity1619 @entity3745 @entity523 @entity4801
UNASSIGNED: The @entity523 leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), had established in Israel by 2010, attacking both @entity2194 and greenhouse crops. We searched for its natural enemies in @entity2194 , and tried to determine their potential for controlling this pest. We surveyed the local natural enemies in open @entity523 fields and measured their impact on pest populations in an unsprayed field. We assessed the suppressive ability of the dominant hemipteran predator, Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter, against T. absoluta under controlled laboratory conditions and evaluated the impact of its augmentation on T. absoluta control in @entity2194 . We found five natural enemy species: the predator, N. tenuis, two braconids, and two eulophids. Predation accounted for 64.5        9.2% (mean        SE) of T. absoluta larval mortality, whereas @entity4801 accounted for 20.9        7.5%. Together, they eliminated the pest population at @entity523 harvest time. Under controlled conditions, predation by N. tenuis rose from 58 to 72% with increased density of T. absoluta, suggesting positive density dependence. The @entity1619 . absoluta (83%) by N. tenuis was higher than that of @entity3745 (32%), suggesting a preference of N. tenuis for T. absoluta. Augmentation of N. tenuis was as effective as conventional treatment insecticide treatment, and plant damage was low and did not seem to affect yield. Results indicate that reduced pesticide use enables indigenous natural enemies, particularly N. tenuis, to successfully control T. absoluta and prevent crop damage in @entity2194 .
