Pest Management Science (2021) 77, 5255-5267

Pascal M. Ayelo, Abdullahi A. Yusuf, Christian WW Pirk, Anaïs Chailleux, Samira A. Mohamed and Emilie Deletre (2021)
Terpenes from herbivore-induced tomato plant volatiles attract Nesidiocoris tenuis (Hemiptera: Miridae), a predator of major tomato pests
Pest Management Science 77 (11), 5255-5267
Abstract:
BACKGROUND
Biological control plays a key role in reducing crop damage by Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), which cause huge yield losses in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The mirid predator Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) preys heavily on these pests, with satisfying control levels in tomato greenhouses. Although N. tenuis is known to be attracted to volatiles of tomato plants infested by T. absoluta and whitefly, little is known about the specific attractive compounds and the effect of prey density on the predator response.
RESULTS
Y-tube olfactometer bioassays revealed that the attraction of N. tenuis to tomato volatiles was positively correlated with the density of T. absoluta infestation, unlike T. vaporariorum infestation. The predator was also attracted to volatiles of T. absoluta larval frass, but not to T. vaporariorum honeydew or T. absoluta sex pheromone. Among the herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that characterised the attractive plants infested with 20 T. absoluta larvae, olfactometer bioassays revealed that N. tenuis is attracted to the monoterpenes α-pinene, α-phellandrene, 3-carene, β-phellandrene and β-ocimene, whereas (E)-β-caryophyllene was found to repel the predator. In dose-response bioassays, the five-component blend of the attractants elicited a relatively low attraction in the predator, and removal of β-phellandrene from the blend enhanced the attraction of the predator to the resulting four-component blend, suggesting synergism among four monoterpenes.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that a four-component blend of α-pinene, α-phellandrene, 3-carene and β-ocimene could be used as a kairomone-based lure to recruit the predator for the biological control of T. absoluta and T. vaporariorum.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Christian Pirk, Emilie Deletre

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Trialeurodes vaporariorum	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Kenya
	Phthorimaea absoluta	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Kenya
Nesidiocoris tenuis (predator)	Trialeurodes vaporariorum	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Kenya
Nesidiocoris tenuis (predator)	Phthorimaea absoluta	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	Kenya