Towards integrated protection against Tuta absoluta: a new pest in France

Press Info item. 16/02/2011 Tuta absoluta is a pest that notably attacks tomatoes, causing major damage that may involve harvest losses of up to 100%. The larvae attack all levels of the plant (leaves, stems and fruits) and several generations are superimposed between March and October, depending on the region. Originating from South America, Tuta absoluta is a small moth that was reported for the first time in Europe in 2006, arriving in France in 2008. It is now present in about fifteen French départements. INRA researchers are trying to limit its spread and the damage it causes, and are proposing a strategy for integrated biological protection.

Fresh tomatoes are grown on 2300 hectares of land in France (producing 570,000 tonnes, 550,000 tonnes of which are grown in greenhouses), so this sector is of considerable economic importance.  Tomato is a crop where biological protection* and integrated protection** are widely developed (approximately 70% of the total crop is grown in shelters and heated greenhouses into which auxiliaries can be introduced). - The distribution of Tuta absoluta in France demonstrates its rapid spread.  Appearing for the first time in the Var in October 2008 (in yellow), the first areas affected were Corsica, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) and then Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhône-Alpes. In 2010 (in red), the pest was found in the Loire Valley, Brittany and Aquitaine. (source: French Ministry of Agriculture) Expensive control methods Various methods for preventive or curative control are available at present for other pests, and they are now being tested against Tuta absoluta.  From a preventive point of view, the aim is to eliminate contaminated organs, manage crop margins, install insect netting or disinfect the soil by means of appropriate tillage (Annex 1).  Curative control measures are also implemented.  The application of plant health products poses a problem because they are harmful to auxiliary insects, and furthermore, T. absoluta can rapidly develop resistance to them.  Other methods are also being developed, such as mass trapping, treatments with bioinsecticides or biological control using auxiliaries (Annex 2). When combined, the control methods currently available are able to limit the pest but costs remain high.  It is therefore urgent to find a new and effective biological solution that is economically viable and environmentally-friendly. Research on new methods to control Tuta absoluta Tuta absoluta caterpillar and adult, and damage caused to leaves and fruit. © INRA This is the objective of the "TutaPI***" project which started in January 2011 and will last for three years.  Led by INRA in the PACA Research Centre and the Technical Institute for Organic Farming (Institut Technique de l’Agriculture Biologique), it is being funded by the French Ministry of Agriculture.  A series of coordinated actions involving actors in experimentation, research and development have been defined in order to identify and assess new and effective auxiliaries.  Economic parameters will also be taken into account.  In the first instance, studies will aim to determine a new species ofTrichogramma (a micro-wasp that lays in eggs) that is more effective against this moth.  Ideally, the aim is to identify a European species that can be stored under cold conditions, with thelytokous reproduction (i.e. only producing females), because only they are parasites in the field (the cost of using these insects would therefore be lower because 100% of individuals would be effective). The optimum integration of biological control against T. absoluta in the integrated protection strategies used for tomatoes and already available in France is one of the main results anticipated from this project.  Thus French producers will be supplied with methods for protection against this pest that are both effective and have an acceptable cost.   This includes the development of techniques compatible with the principles of organic farming which can also be included in integrated biological control measures.  The sustainable management of farms, improvements to tomato quality, and maintenance of the competitiveness of the French tomato sector, are all challenges that are linked to this project. * Biological protection: methods that aim to reduce populations of animal or plant pests using biological means: parasites, predators, etc. ** Integrated protection: rational application of a combination of biological, biotechnological, chemical, physical or cultivation measures, or the selection of plants, where the use of chemical agents is limited to the levels strictly necessary to maintain the presence of harmful organisms below the threshold of economically acceptable losses. ***TutaPI is a project funded by the CASDAR (Special Agricultural and Rural Development Allocation Fund, or Compte d'Affectation Spéciale Développement Agricole et Rural) of the French Ministry of Agriculture). This programme involves numerous additional collaborations: CTIFL ( Fruit and Vegetable Technical Centre, or Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes), APREL (Provencal Association for Vegetable Research and Experimentation, or Association Provencale de Recherche et d’Expérimentation Légumière), The Bouches du Rhône Chamber of Agriculture, GRAB (Organic Farming Experimental Unit, or Station d'expérimentation en Agriculture Biologique), and the company Biotop. It benefits from support from the RMT DévAB (Joint Technology Network for the Development of Organic Farming, or Réseau Mixte Technologique pour le Développement de l’Agriculture Biologique), the PEIFL competitiveness cluster (European Fruit and Vegetable Innovation Cluster, or Pole Européen d’Innovation Fruits et Légumes), and the GisPIClég (Scientific Interest Group on the Integrated Protection of Vegetable Crops, or Groupement d’Intérêt Scientifique Protection Intégrée en Cultures Légumières). Reference : Biological invasion of European tomato crops by Tuta absoluta: ecology, geographic expansion and prospects for biological control.  Desneux N., Wajnberg E., Burgio G., Arpaia S., Wyckhuys Kris A.G., Narváez-Vasquez CA, González-Cabrera J., Tabone E., Frandon J., Pizzol J., Poncet C. & Urbaneja A. J Pest Sci (2010) 83:197–215.   DOI 10.1007/s10340-010-0321-6

Written by :  INRA press service, phone: +33 (0)1 42 75 91 69 Contacts :  Elisabeth TABONE Tel.: 04 92 38 64 26 elisabeth.tabone@sophia.inra.fr INRA PACA Research Centre