Context

Tuta absoluta is a lepidopteran leafminer native to South America which has become a major pest on tomato plants since its arrival in Spain in 2006. It is now widespread in Europe, Africa and Asia. It mainly attacks the leaves, feeding on the parenchyma, although it can also penetrate the fruit and render it unmarketable. In extreme cases, it can also attack shoots, compromising the growth of the plant. All this damages crop productivity as the leaf area is reduced and more of the fruit is unmarketable. There is also a greater risk of returns from customers when they detect pest damage that was overlooked when preparing fruit for sale. This has a direct impact on farmers’ incomes as it lowers the amount of marketable produce and damages their image among customers, which can have an impact on future orders. In this sense, the operational group will tackle with this problem, one of the most important phytosanitary problems for tomato cultivation in our region.