The innovation

Α. The pest

The microlepidoptera Tuta absoluta, an insect native to Latin America, invaded Europe in 2006 andhas since spread rapidly through Europe, Africa and Asia. It was first reported in Greece in 2009 by the Laboratory of Entomology of the Heraklion Institute of Plant Protection and spread rapidly throughout the Greek territory (Roditakis et al. 2009). It is an oligophagous and particularly dangerous insect and to date the greatest damage has been reported in the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) crop. The insect infects the leaves and fruits of tomatoes causing significant economic damage. Both in Greece and in the rest of Europe, programmes have been developed to deal with the pest, while chemical control remains the main tool for the protection of mainly greenhouse tomato crops in Greece. However, the extensive use of insecticides to control the pest has led to the development of resistance to certain chemical products. In an effort to protect the crop, producers increased the treatments as there were no immediate alternatives, thus exacerbating the problem of resistance, increasing production costs and increasing the pesticide residues on the products. This practice will soon lead to the tomato crop being in a disadvantageous situation both technically and economically due to the further development of resistance.

Source: Agravia.gr

B. The innovation

The most important innovative element of the proposal is the simultaneous and complementary application of innovative non-chemical methods for dealing with the enemy, while at the same introducing scientific guidance and pesonalized advisory services. In particular the innovative methods are:

1. Prevention practices: applying techniques to prevent the infestation and to reduce the population of Tuta absoluta
2. Precise monitoring of infestation levels : will allow timely and targeted decisions on the precise timing of pesticide application in the context of Integrated Pest Management principles.
3. The application of natural, biotechnological and chemical methods: use of natural enemies and other techniques to reduce the population at the lowest possible cost
4. Evaluation of insecticide efficacy: is an innovative approach of optimal & science-based selection of most efficient active ingredients to avoid inappropriate interventions. 
5. The application of customised advisory services and their effect and acceptance by farmers will be evaluated for the first time regarding their efficacy controlling this insect in tomato.

The proposed approach is an innovative way of plant protection applied for the first time for Tuta absoluta. Testing the response of the insect to a range of plant protection products (conventional and biological) to confirm their effectiveness in controlling the insect and then developing an integrated control programme will be an originative application of the principles of integrated pest management for an important pest of tomato crop.