New Host Plants of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Turkey

Surveys for determining alternative host plants of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in the Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey were carried out in open fields of tomato growing areas between the years of 2011 and 2012. Plants of four different families including Solanacaeae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae and Poaceae have been identified as host plants. From cultivated members of the Solanaceae family; Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato), Solanum melongena L. (aubergine), and Capsicum annuum L. (pepper), uncultivated Solanaceae; Solanum nigrum L., (black nightshade), S. woronowii Pojark. and Physalis angulata L. (cutleaf groundcherry), from the other non-cultivated weeds around tomato fields Amaranthus viridis L. (slender amaranth), belonging to the Amaranthaceae, Sorghum halepense L. (Pers.) (johnson grass) belonging to Poaceae and Xanthium strumarium L. (coclebur) belonging to Asteraceae family were detected as host plants of T. absoluta. Among them, S. woronowii, P. angulata, X. strumarium, A. viridis and S. halepense are the first records as hosts of T. absoluta in Turkey.