Abstract:
The tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) is an important insect pest affecting
Solanaceae plant worldwide. It pose a significant threat to tomato production in
Fogera, Northwest Ethiopia. However; study has not yet been made for effective
management of this insect by using botanical and synthetic insecticide in these area.
Therefore these studies were intended to manage T. absoluta on tomatoes through by
using botanical and synthetic insecticide. The study was conducted during 2022 dry
season using irrigation in Fogera, Northwest Ethiopia where the tomato variety
“Cochoro” was used as a test crop. The experiment consisted of fourteen (14)
treatments which are two botanical insecticides, Neem (Azadirachta indica) and
Garlic (Allium sativum L.), a synthetic insecticide, Mercury 23 EC 0.14 ml, 0.28 ml
and 0.42 ml and an integration of each together through sequential application. The
experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three
replications. Data on mortality of T. absoluta, infested leaves, tunneled fruit and
marketable yield of tomato were collected timely as per their respective standard
procedure and analyzed using R-Software version 4.3.1. The results of the study had
shown that an integration of botanical with synthetic insecticide influenced most of
the tested parameters. Accordingly, the highest mortality of T. absoluta (100%),
lowest infested leaves (5.44), lowest tunneled fruit (0.33), highest marketable yield
(35.06 ton/ha) and lowest yield loss percentage (<4.10%) were recorded from
treatment which consisted of an integration of neem and garlic with Mercury 23 EC
0.28 ml. Similarly this treatments also generated the highest net benefit (350349.94
ETB/ha) with the highest marginal rate of return (553.01%). The yield loss due to T.
absoluta was found 81.41%. The current study clearly showed that yield loss
positively correlated with infestation of tomato by T. absoluta. Neem and garlic with
MERCURY 23 EC 0.28 ml can be recommended as the most effective and economical
management of T. absoluta on tomato under irrigation in the study area and areas
with similar agro-ecologies.