Efficacy of Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae) and Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) for controlling Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in greenhouse tomato crops under Kuwait hot desert climate

The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is one of the most damaging insect pest of tomato worldwide. Tuta absoluta has developed resistance to a wide range of insecticides. Consequently, there is a need to develop alternative control strategies to manage the pest. We evaluated the efficacy of the predatory mirid, Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae) alone, as well as in combination with the biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) against T. absoluta in greenhouse tomato crops under Kuwait hot desert climate. T. absoluta infestation (larval mines/10 leaves/plant) and fruits damaged was significantly lower on treatments based on N. tenuis alone or in combination with B. thuringiensis compared with the control. No significant differences were found in larval infestation, fruit damage, and crop yield between treatments where N. tenuis was released combined with the application of B. thuringiensis compared with treatments where N. tenuis was released alone. Treatments with N. tenuis alone or in combination with B. thuringiensis resulted in 90% and 93% reduction in fruit damage, respectively. Necrotic rings on tomato plants caused by N. tenuis was minimal, and no flower abortion was observed. The potential for including B. thuringiensis and N. tenuis in an overall sustainable management program for T. absoluta is discussed.