Surveying Hessian Fly,Mayetiola destructor(Say) (Diptera: Cecidomyiideae), in North Tunisia Reveals Changes in Insect Virulence and Cultivar Responses

Distribution, population dynamics and damage of Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in North Tunisia

“…In recent years, numerous outbreaks of Hessian fly have occurred in the Northern part of Tunisia including Jédéida, Mateur, Goubellat, El-Fahs, Mejez-El-Beb, Béja, Jendouba, Kef and Siliana (Ben Salah et al, 1993;Habachi-Houimli et al, 2015;Makni et al, 2000;Miller et al, 1989). Hessian fly was cited as among the most dangerous wheat pests causing significant economic losses (Cherif, 2018;Makni et al, 2011;Makni et al, 2000;Miller et al, 1989).…”

“…Despite the importance of the damages, no appropriate control programme has been undertaken against this pest in Tunisia. Most investigations focused on: (a) molecular characterizations of Mayetiola species infesting cereals in Tunisia (Bouktila et al, 2004;Cherif et al, 2017;Mezghani-Khemakhem et al, 2005); (b) screening for genes resistance under controlled conditions (Bouktila et al, 2005) and (c) surveys for infestations and damage assessment (Cherif, 2018;Elimem et al, 2018;Habachi-Houimli et al, 2015;Makni et al, 2011). Thus, the current study carried out an exhaustive investigation on Hessian fly distribution, population dynamics and damage in semi-arid area of north Tunisia.…”

“…Therefore, it seems important to test and analyse periodically the virulence of Hessian fly against available resistant genes to avoid the release of wheat cultivars with ineffective sources of resistance (Habachi-Houimli et al, 2015;Makni et al, 2011). These data are essential for wheat breeders and growers to provide durable resistance in wheat as virulence evolves in the field in response to selection pressure applied by deployed resistance (Ratcliffe et al, 2000).…”