Scholars Academic Journal of Biosciences (SAJB)
Sch. Acad. J. Biosci., 2017; 5(2):108-113
©Scholars Academic and Scientific Publisher
ISSN 2321-6883 (Online)
ISSN 2347-9515 (Print)
www.saspublisher.com

Geographical distribution of the tomato borer, Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Niger

^1*Haougui Adamou, ²Madougou Garba, ³Mounouni Dan Mairo, ⁴Basso Adamou, ²Salissou Oumarou, ²Bague Gougari, ⁵Aissa Kimba, ²Moumouni Abou, ⁵Patrick Delmas

¹University of Tillabéri, Niger (West Africa)
²Direction Générale de la Protection des Végétaux (Niger)
³University of Tahoua (Niger)
⁴National Institute of Agronomic Research of Niger (INRAN)
⁵Réseau des Chambres d’Agriculture du Niger

The tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta, is a destructive insect pest of Solanaceous crops. It was reported for the first time in 2013 in Niger, a country in West Africa. Three years after its introduction, a survey was conducted in all regions of the country using pheromone traps or direct catch to track its distribution. The results of this survey showed that the pest is present in 7 of the 8 regions of Niger; only the Diffa region was not infested. But with its high reproductive rate and its great capacity for dissemination, there is a high risk that this last region becomes infested rapidly. The insect pest could also rapidly spread into neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Benin because of the trade links they have with Niger. Keywords: invasive pest, tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta, geographical distribution, Niger.

*Corresponding author: Haougui Adamou; email: ahaougui@yahoo.com