The Effect of Color, Height and Type of Pheromone Trap on Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Fars Province

Tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most important pests of tomato that reduces yield and crop quality. In this research, the influence of some factors on pheromone trap captures were investigated. The experiment was conducted in factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications during 2017 and 2018. In this study the effects of three factors, trap types (delta and wing-shaped), trap colors (blue and white) and the trap heights (20, 50 and 80cm), were evaluated on the catch of adults. The results indicated that interaction effects of trap color and height was significant at 5%error probability level and trap type were significant at 1%error probability level. White traps with a mean of 1355.9 were more efficient than blue traps. The highest capture rate was observed in the traps at 80cm height with mean of 1716.4 captures. Delta traps were more effective than the wing-shaped ones. The three-way interaction between year, color and trap height; color, trap height and trap type were significant at 1% error probability level, while the interaction between trap height and color were significantly more effective than others. Delta traps at 80 and 50 cm height with mean capture of 2863.3 and 1137.8, respectively and wing-shaped traps at 20cm height with mean of 962.8 were showed the most capturing levels. The lowest captured adults were observed in blue traps at 20cm height. The results clearly indicated that white delta-shaped traps in the height of 80cm is the most effective trap for control of tomato leaf miner moths.