Life Table Parameters of the Tomato Leaf Miner Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on Five Tomato Cultivars in China.

Simple Summary: As a newly invasive pest in China, the moth Tuta absoluta has spread extremely quickly, and now causes serious harm to the Chinese tomato industry. Understanding the resistance of T. absoluta to different commercially processed tomato cultivars can improve the integrated management strategy using resistant plants. In this study, we found four processed tomato cultivars (Th9, Th1902, Heinz1015, and Dimen2272) that have higher resistance to T. absoluta than fresh tomato (Dafen). Among the four processed tomato cultivars, Th9 was the most suitable cultivar, as T. absoluta showed the higher r value on Th9 than on the other three processed tomato cultivars. Tomato is the most preferred host plant for Tuta absoluta, a newly emerged devastating invasive pest in China. However, no study has evaluated the damage risk of T. absoluta on processed tomato worldwide. In the current study, the life table parameters of T. absoluta were systematically investigated on five tomato cultivars (one fresh tomato cultivar, four processed tomato cultivars) to determine their susceptibility to T. absoluta infestation. T. absoluta had a better population growth ability on the fresh tomato, "Dafen", showing shorter duration of the preadult stage, higher lifetime fecundity, and a higher intrinsic rate of increase compared to four processed tomato cultivars. Meanwhile, the life table parameters of T. absoluta among different processed tomato cultivars also showed significant differences. Th9 was the most susceptible to T. absoluta attack, while Th1902, Heinz1015, and Dimen2272 were the least suitable ones for its development and reproduction. In summary, these tomato cultivars are the most recommended for commercial tomato production to reduce the damage caused by T. absoluta and improve the integrated pest management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]