ChileanJAR

The tomato moth (Tuta absoluta Meyrick; Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is the most devastating insect pest of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) crops in Chile, producing losses from 60 to 100% in non-insecticide treated fields. Because pests are evolving to resistance levels to convencional insecticides, there is interest for alternative strategies including the use of biopesticides. In this work the insecticidal potential of native Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains against this plague was studied. Bt isolates were collected from soil samples of the VII Region of Chile, and characterized using different criteria: colony and parasporal inclusion morphologies, SDS-PAGE, western blotting analysis and bioassays against T. absoluta larvae. Using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique, a genotype classification was performed using specific primers. All the native strains had genes belonging to cry1 family. Two isolates displayed a relevant toxic activity against T. absoluta larvae and could constitute an alternative for controlling this pest. These strains proved to be more effective than the isolate obtained from the commercial Dipel Bt formulation (B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki).