Methods to stop tuta absoluta.

Tuta absoluta also known as tomato leafminer because of its strong preference for tomatoes,although it also affects eggplants, sweet peppers and potatoes. Tuta absoluta can cause 50-100% yield reduction in tomato crops and this is an economic loss because local and international trades are hampered. Prevention and proper management of the pest are crucial for successful harvesting . Chemical control may fail if not properly tailored because of the resistance of Tuta absoluta against many pesticides and also because a big part of its development takes place inside the plant or the soil, out of reach of pesticides. Syngenta with their product Ampligo, provide a simple and fast crop protection solution against many insect-pests. Ampligo works against wide varieties of sucking and biting pests in vegetables, potatoes and field crops, giving up to 21 days protection. This means farmers will reduce times they need to spray their fields, thus saving money,time and energy. The effective prevention of these pests is by effective crop protection which starts with timely and correct identification of the pests in the field. Early detection of pests will ensure early intervention resulting in salvaging more crops. This early detection of weeds, diseases and pests is often referred to as crop scouting,which is done by physical examination of the plants in the field The major challenge with tuta absoluta is that the eggs are small about 0.5mm thus not visible with naked eyes and the the adult moth is active at night,when signs of the destructive caterpillars are seen then the damage is done already without a remedy. An effective control must target more than one stage of the pest , the trapping system allows the farmer to target the moth stage of the caterpillar while the use of spray insecticides allows the farmer targets the caterpillar . The major method to stop the tuta absoluta is as follows 1)A pheromone-based trap makes use of a copy of chemicals stored in a rubber lure, this lure will start emitting pheromones over a six week period, which will attract male Tuta absoluta moths to the trap and they will be caught on the sticky surface at the bottom of the gadget. 2)The lures will prevent further access of more the moth into the field. Early in the season, two traps should be placed per acre of tomatoes. The farmer must count on a daily basis the nuumber of moths that are caught in the traps. It is important to keep a record of these counts to access population and note next phase of action. 3)When three moths or more are caught in one trap in a week, then the farmer should start control measures using of pesticides immediately. Now,the number the amount of traps should be increased to about eight to 10 per acre. Those eight can be delta-traps or water traps. The water traps are easy and a farmer can construct , using water with some soap to catch the pests. If catches are above 30 moths per trap / week, the number of traps should be increased to 20 /an acre. The Lures should be replaced after six weeks and water traps should be refilled with water and soap twice a week during hot periods.