TITLE:
Assessment of Two Trichogramma Species with Bacillus thuringiensis var. krustaki for the Control of the Tomato Leafminer Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Iran
AUTHORS:
Ghazwan Alsaedi, Ahmad Ashouri, Reza Talaei-Hassanloui
KEYWORDS:
Tuta absoluta, Natural Enemies, Trichogramma brassicae, Trichogramma embryophagum, Biological Characteristics, Bacillus thuringiensis, Semi Field
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.7 No.2,
February
7,
2017
ABSTRACT: In this study, we investigated the efficiency of T. brassicae and T. embryophagum in combination with bacterial suspension of B. thuringiensis against the tomato leafminer T. absoluta eggs in cage inside greenhouse (semi field) experiments. Four treatments were used (T. brassicae or T. embryophagum + T. absoluta) (T1), (B. thuringiensis + T. absoluta) (T2), (T. brassicae or T. embryophagum + B. thuringiensis + T. absoluta) (T3) and control (T4). The lowest number of T. absoluta mines (6.1, 0.5 mine per plant) were recorded in T3 for T. brassicae and T. embryophagum were significantly lower than those of all other treatments which were followed by T1 and T2, while the highest number of mines per plant (50.70) were recorded in control (T4). In addition, the parasitism rate, adults’ emergence, the number of females and adult longevity of two parasitoids were investigated. According to the obtained results, the highest parasitism rate was obtained for T. embryophagum when treated with Bt reared in the T. absoluta eggs (31.18%). However, no significant differences were detected between T. brassicae and T. embryophagum in mortality and adult emergence rates were found when they were treated with/ without Bt reared in the T. absoluta eggs in cage inside greenhouse. Also, the longevity of T. embryophagum was significantly better than T. brassicae p = 0.000. This is the first study to investigate T. embryophagum in cage inside greenhouse for parasitizing the eggs of T. absoluta and results of present study suggested that T. embryophagum with Bt could be more efficient for biocontrol of T. absoluta.