Abstract: 【Aim】 To explore the factors affecting mating disruption by sex pheromones of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta and achieve higher control efficacy in the greenhouse. 【Methods】The movement distance of female and male adults of T. absoluta was monitored in the laboratory, the mating behavior was observed, the sex pheromones of female adults were extracted by using the solid phase-microextraction (SPME) adsorption method, and the sex pheromone titer in female adults was analyzed. During 2023-2024, mating disruption experiments of T. absoluta were carried out in Bayintai Village, Liaozhong District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, Northeast China to explore the effects of highdose sex pheromone environment containing E3, Z8, Z11-14∶Ac and E3, Z8-14∶Ac mixture (9∶1, m/m) on the calling and mating behaviors of T. absoluta, as well as their relationship with control efficacy. 【Results】 Under the mating disruption environment using sex pheromones, the male adults of T. absoluta displayed significantly increased movement distance, while the female adults showed no significant change in movement distance. Under the mating disruption environment using sex pheromones, the titer of the sex pheromone E3, Z8, Z11-14∶Ac in female adults of T. absoluta also significantly decreased from (8.4±2.1) ng to (1.5±0.6) ng, and the mating rate of female and male adults significantly dropped from 65.8%±6.0% to 37.3%±4.3%. In the field in Shenyang, Liaoning, the calling behavior of T. absoluta occurred in the early morning, and male adults were trapped using sex pheromones for a total duration of 5 h. In the field, active aerosol dispensers were programmed to begin spraying 3-5 h before the male adult trapping period, releasing pheromones every 6 min. The mating disruption rate after 7 h of spraying in the field reached 92.2%±3.5%, and that after 9 h of spraying was 95.5%±3.0%. The results of evaluation tests in the tomato greenhouse showed that the mating disruption rate was 94.7%±0.63% in the treatment area with sex pheromones released by the active dispensers, and 98.3%±0.26% in the treatment area with sex pheromones released by the passive polyethylene (PE) tubing dispensers. The number of channels damaged by T. absoluta was 4.4±0.5 in the treatment area with sex pheromones released by the passive PE tubing dispensers and 3.5±0.4 in the treatment area with sex pheromones released by the active dispensers, both significantly lower than that in the control group without placing sex pheromone dispensers (12.9±1.7). The number of larvae was 2.8±0.6 in the treatment area with sex pheromones released by the PE tubing dispensers and 1.5±0.4 in the treatment area with sex pheromones released by the active dispensers, both significantly lower than that in the control group without placing sex pheromone dispensers (8.2±1.4). 【Conclusion】 The results of this study demonstrated that high doses of E3, Z8, Z11-14∶Ac and E3, Z8-14∶Ac mixtures released by active aerosol dispensers effectively disrupted the calling and mating behaviors of T. absoluta adults by affecting the movement, sex pheromone titers and mating rate of female and male adults, and were as effective as E3, Z8, Z11-14∶Ac and E3, Z8-14∶Ac mixtures released by commonly used high-density PE tubing dispensers in controlling the larval T. absoluta population.

Key words: Tuta absoluta, mating disruption, sex pheromone titer, mating rate, aerosol dispensers