ArmInfo. In Armenia, steps are being taken to combat the South American tomato moth. The government of Armenia approved the pilot program at a meeting on March 4. According to the Acting RA Minister of Agriculture Gegham Gevorgyan, the program is planned to be implemented in the two largest regions - Armavir and Ararat, where the maximum volumes of tomatoes are produced. If successful, the project will be extended to other regions of the country, including in the fight against potato pests.
The state represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, as the Minister noted, is committed to monitoring and developing a program of activities, and farmers will directly control the tomato moth. Monitoring will be carried out within five months with the inclusion of specialists from the Agrarian University. It is planned to issue booklets, timely notification of the appearance of pests and the development of a set of measures to protect the crop. The minister recalled that last year the harvest of tomatoes because of the tomato moth was very damaged. Implementation of the project, according to Gegham Gevorgyan, will allow at least 70% of the crop to be saved.
Stressing the importance of this program, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pointed out the fact that this year the republic will face a shortage of tomatoes in the amount of 40 thousand tons. To note, the larva of the South American tomato moth Tuta absoluta penetrates the leaves, stalks and fruits, causing significant economic damage, in which the potential yield losses can be 50-100% if you do not fight this pest. T. absoluta is a native species in South America. Since 2006, this species has been found in the Mediterranean, and more recently in Western Europe. Tuta absoluta affects plants of the solanaceous family, with the tomato crop being the most affected. Tuta absoluta is a very small butterfly with a length of 6-7 mm with a gray-brown body color and dark spots on the front wings. The life cycle takes about 10 weeks at 15 + C and 3 weeks at 25 + C. 10-12 generations may appear throughout the year. Adult individuals (adults) are mostly active at night, and during the daytime they hide among the leaves. During life, each female lays more than 200 eggs. The pupal stage lasts 6-10 days.