Acta Entomologica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (6): 835-848.doi: 10.16380/j.kcxb.2023.06.012

• REVIEW ARTICLES • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research progress of behavioral manipulation techniques of Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

LI Xiao-Wei1,#, YI Song-Wang2,#, CHEN Li-Min1, CHENG Jiang-Hui1, ZHOU Shu-Xing1, LV Yao-Bin1,2,*   

  1. (1. State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China; 2. College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China)
  • Online:2023-06-20 Published:2023-08-02

Abstract: The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, is a worldwide devastating pest on tomatoes. This insect pest invaded China in 2017 and showed a trend of spread, posing a serious threat to tomato production in China. Unreasonable use of insecticides for control of this insect pest has led to the increasing level of resistance and the decrease of control efficacy. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop novel green control technologies. Physical control trapping technique and olfactory behavior manipulation technique are important components of the integrated pest management program. In this article, the research progress of physical control trapping (light traps and color traps) and olfactory behavior manipulation (sex pheromone and plant volatiles) in T. absoluta were summarized. Color significantly affects the trapping efficiency of pheromone traps and sticky color traps. White, black and blue traps attract more T. absoluta adults in the field. The black light traps and LED traps with the wavelength of 470 nm have the best trapping efficiency on T. absoluta, and also have synergistic effects on sex pheromone. The sex pheromone of T. absoluta includes the major component (3E, 8Z, 11Z)-tetradecatrienyl acetate and the minor component (3E, 8Z)-tetradecadienyl acetate, in a ratio of ~9∶1. The optimal trapping blend for mass trapping is (3E, 8Z, 11Z)-tetradecatrienyl acetate and (3E, 8Z)-tetradecadienyl acetate in a ratio of 95∶5, and delta traps with sex pheromone lure show the highest trapping efficiency in comparison with other trap types. The sex pheromone of T. absoluta has been widely used for monitoring, mass trapping and mating disruption. Plant volatiles and traditional food attractant volatiles affect the host selection and oviposition of T. absoluta. Octyl acetate, phenylacetaldehyde+acetic acid blend, acetic acid+3-methyl-1-butanol blend, and a blend consisting of limonene, β-ocimene, α-terpinene, δ-elemene and (E)-β-caryophyllene show attractive activities to T. absoluta. p-Quinone, 2-carene, d-curcumene and 1,2-diethylbenzene in tomato can serve as oviposition stimulants to T. absoluta. By contrast, 1-fluorododecane, caryophyllene, curcumene, elemene, humulene, zingiberene, tridecan-2-one, undecan-2-one, (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate and methyl salicylate have adverse effects on host selection, oviposition or growth and development of T. absoluta. Finally, current problems of behavioral manipulation techniques of T. absoluta, such as unclear mechanisms, unstable effects, and lack of combined application technology with other green control strategies, were discussed, and potential research directions were prospected, which will provide a reference for the development of green control technologies based on insect behavioral manipulation in this pest.

Key words: Tuta absoluta; light traps, color traps, sex pheromones, foodbased attractants, repellents