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CURRENT ISSUE

Volume 44, Issue 2, June 2026

eSSN 2412-5407
pISSN 0255-982X

مجلة وقاية النبات العربية

Arab Journal of Plant Protection

A Regional Scientific Journal Published Four Times a Year by the Arab Society for Plant Protection

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Survey of Natural Enemies of the Tomato Leaf Miner, Tuta absoluta in the Al-Wadi Region of Algeria

Haddad1,2* and Z. Abd El-Ghani3

(1) Agriculture Department, Faculty of Natural and Biological Sciences, University of Shaheed Hemah Lakhdar 39,000, Ouadi, Algeria; (2) Laboratory of Biological Diversity and Biotechnology Applications in Agriculture, Faculty of Natural and Biological Sciences, Al-Ouadi University, Al-Ouadi 39,000, Algeria; (3) Agriculture Department, Faculty of Natural and Biological Sciences, University of Boudyaf 28,000, El-Masila, Algeria.

*Email address of the corresponding author: [email protected]

DOI https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001479

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of local natural enemies of the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta in the arid Al Wadi Province, northeastern Algeria, during the 2022/2023 season. The survey was carried out under two tomato cultivation systems, protected agriculture and open field. A total of 866 insects were collected, of which 588 were placed in a climate-controlled incubator set at 25 °C, with 60 % relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 16:8 hours (light:dark). A total of six species of natural enemies associated with the tomato leaf miner were identified, and evenly divided between parasitoids (50%) and predators (50%). Among the predators, 599 individuals of three species belonging to the family Miridae (order Hemiptera) were recorded. These included Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (26.31%; 277 individuals), Macrolophus caliginosus (22%; 195 individuals), and Dicyphus errans (9.81%; 87 individuals). A total of 327 individuals of three parasitoid species from the family Eulophidae (order Hymenoptera) were identified. These were Necremnus artynes (14.33%; 127 individuals), Neochrysocharis kurdjumovi (2.93%; 26 individuals), and Diglyphus isaea (19.63%; 174 individuals). Statistical analysis revealed highly significant differences (P=0.05) between open-field and protected cultivation, with open-field tomato crops harboring the higher number of natural enemies (576 individuals). Significant differences (P=0.05) were also observed among the different types of natural enemies, with Nesidiocoris tenuis showing the highest abundance, totaling 34,625 individuals. In contrast, the interaction between the two studied factors showed no statistically significant difference. However, Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed two distinct groups of natural enemies, both strongly associated with the open-field cultivation system and specific cultivation sites.

Keywords:

Tomato leaf miner, biological control, greenhouse cultivation, open-field cultivation, natural enemies, Al Wadi.