Mulch materials with seedling growing conditions determine the level of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick 1917) infestation in tomato crop

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of various mulch materials with various seedling-growning conditions to reduce Tuta infestations in tomato crops. The results showed that seedlings grown in plastic tunnels and transplanted in open field areas with mulch materials were more resilient to T. absoluta infestation compared to the seedlings grown in open areas with no mulch materials. Similarly, seedlings grown inside the plastic tunnels had the lowest leaf and fruit infestations compared to the seedlings grown in openfield conditions. Leaf infestation was much lower (9-12%) in all mulching fields in both seedlings grown conditions compared to no-mulch fields (18-30%). However, the highest yield (110.0 mt/ha) was recorded in black plastic mulch with seedlings grown inside the plastic tunnel followed by straw mulch (103.30 mt/ha) and white plastic mulch (93.3 mt/ha) fields in the same seedling growing conditions. The lowest yield was recorded in no-mulch fields with seedlings grown in open areas (55.0 mt/ha).