Heteropteran Bugs Assemblage Associated to Organic Tomato Farms: Knowledge for Pest Management

Abstract

The suborder Heteroptera (Hemiptera) includes zoophagous and zoophytophagous species which conform diverse natural enemies’ systems with potential to control several horticultural pests. In this study, we report the assemblage structure of heteropteran bugs species inhabiting open-field and greenhouse organic tomato crops and one common adjacent non-crop solanaceous plant, Solanum sisymbriifolium, in North Buenos Aires province, Argentina, aimed to select promissory biocontrol species. Biweekly direct inspection of selected plants was carried out during a 3-year period (2017–2019) to collect hemipteran nymphs and adults. As a result, nine species and morphospecies belonging to Berytidae (zoophytophagous), Lygaeidae (phytophagous), and Miridae (phytophagous and zoophytophagous) were found, with ≥ 75% of species belonging to the latter family. The zoophytophagous mirid Tupiocoris cucurbitaceus (Spinola) was the most frequent and dominant species in all sites studied. Among the phytophagous species, Nysius simulans Stål was mostly present in greenhouse crops. The community found in greenhouse tomato crops was more diverse than that registered in open-field crops. The characterization of the heteropteran complex in organic tomato farms provides basic knowledge necessary to design pest control strategies in the region studied.