Comparison of strains of Nesidiocoris tenuis against Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) under geothermal greenhouses in southern Tunisia

Abstract

Heated greenhouse cultivation in southern Tunisia constitutes a very important axis of agricultural development. Among the problems that are prejudicial to glasshouse tomato crops heated by geothermal waters, the newly introduced Tuta absoluta insect remains little studied in this agro-ecosystem. Biological means in the context of an integrated fight against this formidable pest to better understand the geothermal sector and contribute to the study of this new problem. The monitoring of a population of a native strain of Nesidiocoris tenuis installed naturally in the geothermal greenhouse and a population of one strain introduced into another greenhouse, showed the performance of the indigenous strain which multiplied rapidly and remained until the end of cultivation with a large population arriving at the total elimination of Tuta absoluta.