Screening of five tomato varieties against Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard, 1960 (Acari: Tetranychidae), a pest of tomato grown in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Tomatoes are the second most produced vegetable in Burkina Faso after onions. It is very sensitive to red mite pressure. The present study aims at evaluating the susceptibility of five tomato varieties to Tetranychus evansi. To do so, a voluntary infestation of mites was carried out at a rate of 110 mites (100 females for 10 males) per plant. The tomato varieties were transplanted in 10 replicates each, in plastic pots, each pot corresponding to one replicate. A total of 100 pots were studied, of which 50 pots were infested and the other 50 were uninfested controls. The average number of mites per leaflet, leaf damage index, damage severity and yield were evaluated. The results showed a very high susceptibility of all varieties with leaf damage indices between 1.5 and 4, resulting in complete destruction of the plants and a total loss of yield at harvest. In contrast, the uninfested controls gave satisfactory yields. These results show that it is imperative to combine other control methods with varietal alternatives for the control of this pest.