Determination of Insecticide Susceptibility of Field Populations of Tomato Leaf Miner (Tuta absoluta) in Northern Nigeria

In 2016, northern Nigeria experienced a devastating infestation by the tomato leaf miner, leading to soaring in prices of tomatoes across the country. Unfortunately, information on the resistance status of this pest is lacking in northern Nigeria, hampering appropriate control measures. Here, we identified to species level and, using bioassays, characterised insecticide susceptibility profile of a field population of a tomato leaf miner from northern Nigeria. Highest resistance was observed with λ-cyhalothrin (a Type II pyrethroid) with a low mortality (18.52% at 56 h) and LD50 of 7461.474 ppm. Resistance was also established toward propoxur and chlorpyrifos-methyl with average mortalities each of 56% and LD50s of 1023.51 ppm and 106.351 ppm, respectively. Highest susceptibility was observed from abamectin with mortality of 86% and LD50 of 0.034 ppm. Pre-exposure to the synergist piperonylbutoxide significantly recovered λ–cyhalothrin susceptibility ((mortality~90%, χ2 = 98.35, p < 0.0001) and LD50 = 0.92 ppm) implicating P450 monoxygenases. No significant changes were observed on pre-exposure to diethyl maleate and triphenylphosphate-inhibitors of glutathione S-transferases and carboxylesterases, respectively. Sequencing of domain II of the voltage-gated sodium channel established 1014F kdr mutation 100% fixed in both λ-cyhalothrin-alive and dead larvae. These findings highlight the challenges for control of this invasive agricultural pest in northern Nigeria