07 Dec 2016

Tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) a pest of quarantine importance has been detected in Botswana.

A press release from the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security informs farmers and the general public that the affected areas by this outbreak are Bobirwa, Boteti, Chobe, North East and North West.

The pest’s preferred host is tomatoes, but the release says it can also attack other solanecous crops such as potato, pepper and eggplant and can cause up to 100 per cent yield loss.

“The main pathway for the Tomato leaf miner to spread from one area to another or from one country to another is through the movement of infested seedlings and tomato fruits,” says the release.

Given the economic importance of Tomato leaf miner, the release says a management strategy has been developed to be used by all tomato producers in Botswana and all producers are expected to cooperate with the monitoring teams in their districts.

“Failure to cooperate with the agricultural extension agents will result in farms being placed under quarantine,” adds the release.

Furthermore, in an effort to prevent the spread of the pest across the country, the ministry recommends the following measures: field sanitation through collection and destruction of infested fruits, planting of non-host crops and crop rotation.

Other measures include cultivating the field to expose the pupa and mass trapping of the adult moths in and outside farms using water baited lures.

In addition, the ministry will also enforce the following; destruction of all tomato plants in the infested farms, all infested farms should not plant host crops for one year and traders importing fruits into the country to follow proper phytosanitary procedures.

Therefore, movement of solanaceous crops from the Tomato leaf miner infested areas in the country is restricted and importation of tomato fruits from countries infested with Tomato leaf miner is also suspended with immediate effect until further notice. ENDS