Tomato moth (Tuta absoluta)

08.07.2026

TOMATO MOTH (TUTA ABSOLUTA) IS A VERY HARMFUL INSECT IN TOMATO CULTIVATION

The tomato moth (Tuta absoluta) is a very dangerous pest for Solanaceous crops, especially for tomatoes. It infects buds, leaves, flowers, and fruits, causing yield loss of up to 70%. The tomato moth is a lepidoptera from the Gelechiidae family. In Europe, the moth was first discovered in Spain in 2006. After this, its presence was quickly reported in almost all Mediterranean countries, practically turning into a serious threat to tomato production. Its existence in Albania has been acknowledged since 2009.

This pest is now widespread in Kosovo, especially in greenhouses, and considering the severe damage it causes to vegetable production, farmers must be very careful in identifying and detecting its appearance at the earliest possible stages, in order to take various protective measures against this dangerous pest. The main plant it affects is the tomato, but it can also affect potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and weeds from the Solanaceae family. The insect causes damage both in open fields and in protected environments.

Description

The adult insect is 10 mm long, silvery-gray in color, and has several dark spots on its upper wings. The egg is shaped like a small pot measuring 0.2-0.4 mm.

Adult larvae can reach a size of up to 8 mm. On the upper part of the head, a thin dark stripe is easily visible.

The nymph (pupa) is colored from green to chestnut and measures 4 mm.

The biological cycle

The tomato moth has a very high reproductive rate, 10-12 generations per year; at a temperature of 30^°C, the eggs hatch after 4 days. The larvae go through 4 larval stages. The nymph (pupa) occurs in the soil.

Field observations

Adult insects are indifferent to the color of the attracting trap. The flights of adult insects tend to occur at low levels near the ground. This data serves for the correct placement of luring traps.

The use of products such as mild potassium soaps, gelatin, and mineral oils is believed to limit the development of eggs and adult forms.

In some crops where nematocide treatment with droplets has been applied, using oxamil-based products, infections from the moth are lower.

Controlling the tomato moth.  Although difficult, there are different ways to keep the tomato moth (Tuta absoluta) under control.

Physical methods

Protection of tunnels and greenhouses with insect-resistant nets.

Installation of insect screens to cover all entrances to greenhouses in order to prevent insect entry

Agronomic methods

• Use of pure planting material
• Careful elimination of weeds, especially those from the Solanaceae family, both inside and outside the greenhouse
• Removal of infected organs and their immediate destruction
• Cleaning and burning tomato plant waste at the end of the season
• Agricultural rotation with crops other than those of the Solanaceae family

Management and elimination of affected plant organs

Biotechnical method/Use of pheromones:

Monitoring.  The use of pheromone traps is a suitable method for detecting the presence of the insect when its population is still small. In this way, they serve as warning tools for the measures to be taken to prevent damage from moths. The nature of pheromones used for monitoring purposes should vary depending on the size of the insect's population.

Mass traps/mass trapping.  Pheromone traps can also be used as large traps to combat tomato moths, especially in protected environments. In this case, they help reduce the insect population in greenhouses, particularly if nets are used to close ventilation windows and prevent adult insects from entering.

Massive traps are a technique that works when a large number of traps are used, placed in different positions. They attract and help eliminate a large number of male insects from the pest population, thereby reducing the chances of female insect mating and significantly decreasing the number of fertile eggs laid by the latter. Mass traps are a potential opportunity for protecting production even in open fields. However, for practical reasons, the chance of success is greater when they are used in protected environments. The chances of success increase if the use of pheromones is combined with selective treatments with specific insecticides.

Biological control.  There is a series of biological agents that can be used to keep tomato moths under control.  Among them can be mentioned;

1. Trichogramma pertiosum

2. Trichogramma achaeae

3. Macrolophus pygmaeus

4. Nesidiocoris tenuis

5. Nabis pseudoferus

The egg parasitoid, Trichogramma achaeae, is considered one of the most suitable candidates for the biological control of the tomato moth. Under greenhouse conditions, by releasing 30 adult insects per plant (=75 adult insects per m^²) every 3-4 days, plant damage was reduced by 91.74%.

Also, the release into greenhouse conditions of 8-12 larvae/plants of Nabis pseudoferus has been accompanied by a reduction from 92% to 96% in tomato moth eggs.

Microbial control.  Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstakis has demonstrated a satisfactory effect against the larval infection of tomato moth. It has been observed that a combined use of Trichogramma pertiosum and Bacillus thuringiensis reduced the extent of fruit damage caused by tomato moth to only 2%.

The entomopathological fungus Metarhizium anisopliae can cause up to 37.14% mortality among female insects, while various laboratory studies have proven that Beauveria bassiana can cause larval mortality of up to 68%.

Plant insecticides.  The extract from the seeds of a plant (neem; an evergreen tree native to India, but also found in other parts of the southeastern part of the globe), Azadirachtin, acts as a contact and systemic insecticide against the tomato moth. It has been proven that treating the soil with this extract caused the death of 48.9 to 100% of the tomato moth larvae. Using neem oil on the upper surface of the leaves caused the death of 57 to 100% of the larvae.

Chemical control.  Chemical control is the main measure against tomato moth. Due to the high number of chemical treatments, the creation of stable breeds has often been observed. Thus, p.sh, cases of resistance of the moth to abamectin, deltamethrine methamidophos, and permethrin have been reported.

However, there are active ingredients that are effective against tomato moth larvae. Imidacloprid, indoxacarb, and spinosad are currently the most effective chemicals for controlling it. In many cases, deltamethrin is also effective in combating adult insects.

Finally, 'Syngenta' recommends a new product (Afirm), as very effective for controlling tomato moth.

Good agricultural practices.  Good agricultural practices for controlling tomato moth include crop rotations with non-solar plants, soil cultivation, use of appropriate fertilizers, destruction of infected plants, and shredding of plants after harvest. Uprooting plants, or at least selectively removing infected plant parts, are important control practices that help control this pest in greenhouses.

Another control option is spraying the soil and the base of the plant stem with olive oil processing residues. The latter attaches the wings of the butterflies and paralyzes their activity.

Another option is to use ultraviolet lamps to attract butterflies to traps where they are physically destroyed. For this purpose, depending on the power of the lamps, 10-15 lamps per hectare are used. These lamps should have a power of 60-80 watts and be activated during nighttime hours.

Integrated strategies for pest control.  Integrated control strategies appear to be the most effective way to keep tomato moth under control. Many active ingredients can be used combined with organic techniques. Recommended integrated control methods include, in order;

1. massive traps before planting,
2. cleaning the soil of plant debris,
3. the use of imidacloprid in the irrigation water 8-10 days after planting,
4. use of spinosad or indoxacarb if sporadic individuals of tomato moth are observed
5. Removing the remaining parts of the plant immediately after the last fruits are harvested

If traps catch fewer than ten adult insects per week per trap, treatments are mainly recommended to be done with bio-based products, such as Bacillus thuringensis and Azadirachtin. If pheromone traps catch more than ten butterflies per week for each trap, it is advised that treatments be done by combining bio insecticides with chemical insecticides.

In low-density populations, the mass capture of pests with water traps using pheromones as bait has proven to be an effective control measure. For this purpose, an average of 30-40 water traps with pheromones per hectare of greenhouse are needed.