Controlling tomato leaf miner

Tuta absoluta is capable of causing a yield loss of 100%, but biological ways to thwart this pest are in the works. Bill Kerr provides an update.

- Bill Kerr

Sometimes referred to as the South American leaf miner, Tuta absoluta is creating havoc in tomato crops in South Africa and 80 other countries. Native to South America, it was confined to that region until 2006, when it arrived in Spain and spread worldwide from there.

Its appearance in South Africa has resulted in high tomato prices due to lost production and the many farmers who have given up the struggle against T. absoluta and switched to other crops.

The pest has a life cycle of about three weeks and can build up resistance to any insecticide rapidly. New crop chemicals come out more slowly than the pest can build up resistance, which means that pesticides on their own cannot provide a lasting remedy.

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