Pest status, bio-ecology and management of the false codling moth,Thaumatotibia leucotreta(Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and its implication for international trade

Abstract

The false codling moth (FCM), Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is an insect pest which represents an important threat to the production and marketing of a wide range of agricultural crops in the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries. The FCM reduces not only the yield and quality of the crop but also as a quarantine insect pest, restricts the trade of susceptible agricultural produce on the international market. In addition, little research has been conducted in the ACP countries on the bio-ecology and sustainable management of this pest, especially on vegetables for export. Thus, action-oriented research aimed at understanding the bio-ecology of this important pest is essential to achieve effective management. Various management interventions against this pest have been used in some parts of the world, especially in South Africa on citrus. Currently, farm sanitation is regarded as the key management strategy. Exploring and improving on other interventions such as Sterile Insect Technique, monitoring and mass trapping of male moths, augmentative biological control, use of bio-pesticides, protected cultivation and cold treatment may help to mitigate the expansion of FCM into other countries, especially in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization region where it has become a regulated insect pest since 2014. This review discussed the bio-ecology of FCM and highlighted some of the challenges and opportunities for its effective management and its implication for international trade, especially the export of chillies from the ACP countries into the European Union market which requires strict phytosanitary regulations.

Evaluation of the Likelihood of Establishing False Codling Moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) in Australia via the International Cut Flower Market

“…To identify the potential for T. leucotreta to establish in Australia, the areas of potential species invasion considered both climatic habitat suitability and host range [ 9 , 18 ], as well as the pest’s ability to disperse across susceptible hosts [ 9 ]. Given that T. leucotreta is a polyphagous pest, its host range could be much wider than currently known.…”

“…This could involve ongoing economic losses, impact on reputation, customer loyalty and even import licensing [ 15 ]. Thaumatotibia leucotreta is typically polyphagous and can cause feeding damage to over 107 host species and subspecies, both cultivated and wild [ 6 , 7 , 9 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Although T. leucotreta has low natural dispersal ability across the landscape, it is able to move long distances via human-mediated pathways [ 19 ].…”

“…Damage caused by T. leucotreta can include a range of symptoms, such as chewing, exit holes and frass eventually resulting in yield reduction [ 23 ], and infested plants are more susceptible to infection by fungi and bacteria [ 18 ]. A further challenge associated with managing T. leucotreta is that infestation symptoms are often difficult to detect.…”

Analysis of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera; Tortricidae: Olethreutinae) mitochondrial genomes reveal opportunistic host range expansion towards rose

“…Almost all samples used in this study were obtained from interceptions at Dutch import locations. Consequently, there is a sampling bias towards countries that trade large volumes of commodities on which FCM is present with the Netherlands [50]; Eastern sub-Saharan countries are well-represented, whereas Western sub-Saharan countries were absent in our samples. Even though the current study does not represent FCM's complete distribution range, the diversity observed among the south-eastern Sub-Saharan samples is large enough to justify the determination of linkages between mitogenomic diversity and geographic origin or host on which the specimen was found.…”

Commodity risk assessment of Citrus L. fruits from Israel for Thaumatotibia leucotreta under a systems approach

“…In Ghana, the binary insecticides acetamiprid 16 g L−1 + indoxacarb 30 g L−1 (Viper ® ) and lambda cyhalothrin 15 g L−1 + acetamiprid 20 g L−1 EC (Protocol ® ) gave a 100% protection to the chilli fruits against T. leucotreta , while dimethoate (400 g L−1) + cypermethrin (36 g L−1) (Cydim Super ® ) and maltodextrin (Eradicoat T GH ® ) offered 71.2 and 85.8% protection, respectively (Adom et al., 2020).…”