Parasitoids of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) in open field tomato crop in Iraq

Abstract

The tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is an invasive pest in Iraq, that represents a global threat to commercial tomato production, in both open field and greenhouse. Field survey was conducted to identify parasitoids of T. absoluta in tomato open field in three sites: Suweera, Azeezia and Kut in Wasit province, central Iraq during the 2019 cropping season. Five hymenopterans parasitoid species were identified on T. absoluta as: two egg parasitoids Trichogramma pintoi Voegele (Trichogrammatidae) and Telenomus sp. (Platygastridae); two larval parasitoids Habrobracon concolorans Marshall (Braconidae) and Closterocerus sp. (Eulophidae), and one parasitoid of pupa, Proconura sp. (Chalcididae). The present study reports the first record of these parasitoids of T. absoluta on tomato open field in Iraq.