Tomato fruitworm

Symptoms On corn, the larvae feed on fresh silks, then move down the ears, eating kernels and leaving trails of excrement as they go. Early and late cultivars are most affected. On tomatoes (where the larvae are called tomato fruitworms), the larvae burrow into ripe fruits, eat buds, and chew large holes in leaves. 

Cause Tomato fruitworms. Fruit collapses pests... 

Large holes or damaged areas in fruit or ears Corn Squash family plants Tomatoes Corn earworms, European corn borers Pickleworms Tomato hornworms, tomato fruitworms... 

The lepidopteran genus Heliothis includes some species that are among the most important of all phytophagous insect pests. The Heliothis complex has worldwide distribution and is responsible for economic losses over a wide range of field and horticultural crops. In the USA, two species of these pests -- Heliothis zea (Boddie) otherwise known by the common names bollworm, com earworm, tomato fruitworm, etc. and the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.)... 

Implicated In arthropod resistance. This paper will describe the known effects of these compounds on selected insect pests of tomato and describe some of complexities Involved in manipulating the presence and amounts of these chemicals in the tomato plant to enhance the level of Insect resistance. Emphasis will be on three insect species for which the greatest amount of information is available the tobacco hornworm, Manduca next a L. the tomato fruitworm, Hellothls zea (Boddle), and the Colorado potato beetle Leptlnotarsa decemlineata (Say). 

Some of the complex ecological interactions mediated by plant defenses are illustrated by the resistance of a wild tomato, Lycopersicon hirsutum f, glabratum C, H. Mull, accession PI 134417, to Manduca sexta (L,), the tobacco hornworm, and its effects on several predators and parasitoids of Heliothis zea (Boddie), the tomato fruitworm. 

Tridecanone/glandular trichome-mediated resistance of L hirsutum f. glabratum PI 134417 to sexta and decemlineata adversely affects an array of parasitoids and predaceous insects that are important natural enemies of the tomato fruitworm, zea. These natural enemies represent a diversity of life histories and are affected by the defenses of PI 134417 in different ways. Because the resistance of PI 134417 decreases the parasitization rates and increases mortality of immatures of the three parasitoid species... 

The a-tomatine (Fig. 9.11) is the major glycoalkaloid present in the leaves, stems, and immature fruit of tomato plants. It is reported to be potentially toxic and also is reported to exert antifungal activity and to inhibit the growth of fruitworm and other insects (Friedman et al., 1994). The method consists of lyophilization of the tomatoes followed by grinding and sieving. The extraction is aqueous and reversed-phase C-18 is the sorbent used for the isolation of the a-tomatine. 

Isman M B, Duffey S S 1982 Toxicity of tomato phenolic compounds to the fruitworm Heliothis zea. Ent Exp Appl 31 370-376... 

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