BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF TOMATO PESTS IN EGYPT

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Protection Research Institute, Department of Biological Control, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

2 Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technology application, Cairo, Egypt.

3 Field Crops Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

Biological control trial on tomato plants were carried out at Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technology Application, New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria, Egypt during two tomato summer seasons; 2008 and 2009 compared with field treated with insecticides. The most serious insect pests in both fields were Heliothis armigra, Spodoptera littoralis and S. exigua larvae. The pests control in the biological field depended mainly on releasing of the coccinellid species and the parasitoid Trichogramma evanescens. The releases were timed according to the catches of the pheromone traps and the weekly survey of the insect pests. The pests, control in the traditional field depended only on insecticide treatments. In 2008 season in the biological control field, five releases of mixture of coccinellid predators; Coccinella undecimpunctata, C. sptempunctata and Hypodimia trideampunctata at ratio of to 17: 7 : 5, respectively. In the second season, six releases of C. undecimpunctata and one of parasitoid, Trichogramma evanescens were done in biological control field. In the corresponding insecticide treatment field, four insecticide applications were carried out in the first season 2008, while in the second season, three insecticide treatments were applied. The infestation rates in the first season in tomato fruits were 1.3 and 3.8% in biological control and insecticide treated fields, respectively. While in the second season, these rates were 0.2 and 2.7% in the two fields, respectively. The tomato production was estimated with 9174 and 3867 kg/fed. in biological control and insecticides treated field in 2008 season, respectively, while in the second season those were 5804 and 3812 kg/fed., respectively.

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