Further experience with Tuta control in my tomatoes

This year, Tuta absoluta was present with such a light concentration that the pest did no damage in my tunnels.

- Bill Kerr

Tuta was present right from my first tomato planting when the frosts ceased and right to the present towards the end of February. The plantings were in plastic tunnels and were done in gradual succession so as to be able to have tomatoes from the beginning of December to the first frosts of winter. The tomatoes have never been sprayed as I farm fully organic.

The control has been mainly from the mirid bug Nesidiocoris tenuis, which was not introduced but started to arrive naturally. This bug is able to not only control tuta but also whitefly, aphids, spider mites, thrips, and other moth larvae such as the bollworms. I did have some thrips on my young plants and also had some damage initially from the African bollworm, causing me to discard some fruit. Later on I had no more bollworm activity when the mirid bugs started to increase in numbers.