MANAGEMENT OF TOMATO PINWORM*
Management of tomato pinworm populations depends on culture practices, the use of sex pheromones for adult moth mating disruption, monitoring and insecticide applications where needed. A host-free period is required to reduce tomato pinworm levels after final harvest of the current season’s crop; the longer the host-free period, the greater the reduction in tomato pinworm population. A host-free period is when old tomato plantings have been disked under and other infestation areas such as greenhouse seedlings or alternate hosts (eggplant and nightshade) have not been present to support tomato pinworm populations. All crop residue and culls should be disked to a depth of at least 2 to 4 inches, immediately after harvest is complete, to destroy larval food sources and pupae in the soil. Wherever possible, destroy infested crops before a new tomato crop is planted in adjacent fields. Transplants also must be checked before planting as field infestations can occur from infested transplants. This product may be used in an IPM program in conjunction with insecticides in areas of high pressure, where migration from adjoining fields is occurring, or where control of secondary pests is needed.
*Integrated Pest Management for Tomatoes, University of California. Pub 3274 1990

TOMATO PINWORM BIOLOGY *
Tomato pinworm (Keiferia lycopersicella) is a widely distributed pest of tomatoes, and to a lesser extent, eggplant, throughout the tropical tomato-producing areas of Mexico, and the states of Florida, Texas and California. It is a major pest of cherry, fresh market and processing tomatoes wherever winters are mild and production seasons are long. The tomato pinworm overwinters primarily in tomato plants not destroyed after fall harvest and does not undergo an obligatory diapause during winter months. As many as 7 or 8 overlapping generations may occur each year and these generations vary in length from 3 to 4 weeks in summer months to 3 or 4 months in winter. Adult moths are primarily nocturnal. Mating occurs soon after emergence and generally takes place between 4 PM and 10 PM. Females lay most of their eggs within two days. Eggs are laid singly on undersides of leaves. Hatching larvae may chew into the leaf to form a narrow mine or bore into the fruit, most commonly directly under the calyx. Late instar larvae mining in leaves expand the mine into an irregular blotch. The larvae then fold a leaf section over the mine and fasten the edge to form a shelter for pupation. Mature larvae may also exit the leaves or fruit to pupate on the ground or in the soil in loosely constructed silken cocoons dotted with plant debris and soil. Larvae may also enter the fruit at any stage of ripeness where they tunnel into the core and solid portions between locules. In heavy infestations several larvae may occur in a single fruit. The entire larval development time may be completed in as little as 10 days in summer. Damage to leaves from larval feeding usually is not significant except when heavy infestations defoliate young plants. Infestations in spring crops may be heavy following mild winters, especially where nearby fall plantings were not disked under after harvest. Larva boring and feeding in the solid parts of the fruit, particularly under the calyx, cause blackened tunnels and fruit decay. Initially, feeding is hard to detect. However, by the time larvae are nearly mature, a brownish, granular frass usually exudes from under the edge of the calyx. Damage from larval feeding may occur in both green and ripe fruit and, because it is difficult to detect, may create a post harvest contamination problem. The larval habit of feeding mainly under the calyx is very difficult to detect in cherry tomatoes that are picked and marketed with the calyx attached.
* Integrated Pest Management for Tomatoes, University of California. Pub 3274 1990