Tobacco Pregnancy (Phthorimaea opercullella)
The wingspan of the pregnant tobacco [Phthorimaea operculella (Zell.)] butterfly is 10-12 mm. Wings are narrow and antennae are longer than the body. The forewings are grayish yellow. There are 2-3 large and many small black spots on the wing. Wing edges are shaded. Hind wings are long with transparent and gray fringe feathers.
Eggs are oval and cream colored. The mature larva is 10-12 mm long, the head and prothorax are blackish brown, the body is pinkish, greenish. Each body ring has a few spots in the form of black dots and short smoky hairs.
The butterfly begins to fly in April. After a while, they mate and lay their eggs in indentations and protrusions on the lower surface of nightshade leaves. Adults are active at night. Eggs hatch in 3-4 days. It matures in 2-3 weeks by feeding on the stem and leaves. The matured larvae pupate in galleries in leaves or stems, in a whitish cocoon among fallen leaves and plant debris, and in the soil. The pupal period is 7-10 days. Adults live 1-2 weeks.
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The larvae feed by opening galleries on the leaves, petioles and stems of the tobacco plant. They do not touch the lower and upper epidermis. They do their main damage in the young stages of the plant. By eating part or all of the leaf, it causes the leaf to take on a transparent appearance. Later, these parts dry out and break up. It is mostly seen in the bottom leaves during the development of the tobacco plant. More than one larva can be found on a leaf. As a result of their feeding on the body, they form outward typical bulges. For this reason, the pest was called "pregnant tobacco". Harms are usually greater in places or years where proportional humidity and temperature are high. As a result of the larvae feeding on tobacco, the quality of the damaged leaf decreases as well as the yield loss.
The pest is found in the Mediterranean, Aegean, Black Sea and Marmara regions.
Potato, tobacco, eggplant, tomato and pepper are hosts. Some weeds from the Solanaceae family are also among its hosts.
No natural enemies have been identified in our country.
-Tobacco field should be checked frequently. If the contamination is not widespread in young plants, those plants should be collected.
- In advanced plants, since the damage is mostly seen on the lower leaves, the leaves with gallery should be removed and destroyed.
When the first signs of damage are seen in the young stages of the plant, the control should be started. If there is 20% contamination in developed plants, control is necessary.
Back sprayer (mechanical, automatic, motorized) or back atomizer can be used for spraying.
Spraying should be done in the morning and evening coolness and care should be taken to spray the whole plant.
*Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Protection Technical Instructions Vol:2