| Abstrakt: |
AbstractThe tomato leafminer, Tuta absolutaMeyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a widespread devastating pest reported to develop on economically important solanaceous crops. The characterisation of its host range could help to understand and prevent the dispersion behaviour of the insect in the environment. In this study, the ability of T. absolutato develop on 12 cultivated or non-cultivated plants including Solanaceae, Amaranthaceae, Convolvulaceae, Fabaceae, and Malvaceae species under laboratory conditions was assessed. For each plant species, we monitored the development times of immature stages, survival, sex ratios, and adult fecundity rates. All the six tested non-solanaceous plants, including ChenopodiumLinnaeus (Amaranthaceae), ConvolvulusLinnaeus (Convolvulaceae), and MalvaLinnaeus (Malvaceae) species, were not able to sustain (i.e., allow growth and development) T. absolutalarvae. SolanumLinnaeus (Solanaceae) species were the most suitable host plants for the pest, but others could be opportunistically colonised with fewer incidences. Tuta absolutaappears to be strongly related to solanaceous plants that would predominantly support self-sustaining field populations. Preventing crop infestation by removing potential host plants in the immediate field vicinity and culture rotations with non-solanaceous crops is of primary importance. |
