Pheromone-based attract-and-kill technique against Tuta absoluta in open-field tomato crops in Konya province, Türkiye

This study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of the attract-and-kill (A&K) technique in controlling the South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in open-field tomato growing areas in the Meram district of Konya province (Türkiye) in 2020 and 2021. Three pheromone-treated and three untreated control fields were used in both years. The A&K pheromone (MalEx™) was homogeneously applied by hand to the tomato plant at a dose of 3000 droplets/ha, while no pheromone application was made in the untreated control plots. Delta traps were installed both in untreated control and pheromone-treated plots to monitor T. absoluta populations. The number of males captured in Delta traps and the infestation rates of tomato plants by T. absoluta populations were recorded weekly. In pheromone-treated plots, the mean number of males captured/trap/week in 2020 and 2021 was recorded as 271.06 ± 25.19 and 264.81 ± 23.06, respectively, while it was recorded in untreated control plots as 647.80 ± 58.71 and 668.96 ± 42.02, respectively. The mean infestation rate (%) of T. absoluta in A&K pheromone-treated plots was recorded as 3.83 ± 0.39% and 3.76 ± 0.34%, while it was recorded as 10.18 ± 0.93% and 10.96 ± 0.91% in untreated control plots in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The results of the present study showed that the A&K formulation was successful in the control of T. absoluta in tomatoes grown in open-field conditions of Konya province, Türkiye.