Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) development on wild and cultivated plant species

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a widespread invasive species damaging economically important cultivated solanaceous crop plants, including tomatoes and potatoes. Little is known about the ability of this microlepidoptera to encounter and develop on alternative wild and agricultural plant species. These plants could provide refuges and have to be identified for more efficient integrated management strategies. In the present study, we assessed under laboratory conditions the ability of T. absoluta to develop on such plant species referred as potential hosts in the literature, including Solanaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Fabaceae, and Malvaceae.

For each plant species, fitness tests were performed in Petri dishes by isolating single individuals with excised leaf. We found that Solanum species allowed higher larval survivability and shorter development time (from egg to adult emergency) compared to the other plants. Non-solanaceous plants were not able to sustain T. absoluta larvae. Two choice behavioral assays performed in flying tunnels revealed that adult distribution and female oviposition did not differ between Solanum species, which were preferred to other tested solanaceous plants. These results appeared to be consistent with survival rates and development times. Because larval survivability depends on the female’s oviposition choice, the hypothesis that host plant choice is influenced by plant volatile organic compounds has to be tested. Volatile organic compounds released by solanaceous plants were trapped using a dynamic collection system, and analyzed by GC-MS. Solanum volatile profiles showed similarities, and were presenting quantitative and qualitative differences with the other tested solanaceous plants, providing some explanations in the observed behavioral discrimination. Further electrophysiological and behavioral assays are required to confirm the effect of specific chemicals on the choice of the oviposition site in T. absoluta.

It can be concluded that Solanum species are the more suitable hosts for T. absoluta development. Other solanaceous plant species could be opportunistically colonized with little incidence but care should be taken in these results as genetic variability in insects and plants, as well as plant physiological state, might have an impact on the pest survivability.