Just as humans who can be affected by pathogens, vegetables can be threatened by destructive and lethal pests and pathogens. Pests virtually affect all components of food security. When the spread occurs, many farmers tend to overuse chemical pesticides with the hope for improving productivity and profitability. Unfortunately, it leads to the loss of biodiversity of beneficial organisms and harms the humans as well as the environment.

Phthorimaea absoluta or P. absoluta (previously known as Tuta absoluta) is known as one of the serious invasive pests. It takes only several decades for this Peru native pest from 1917 to spread to most parts of the world. P. absoluta can cause significant damage on tomato in both open-field and protected cultivation, resulting in 80-100% losses if left uncontrolled. As it has been recorded in several countries of Asia including Myanmar, China, and Taiwan, ASEAN member countries are at high risk in the immediate future.

Moreover, it can also damage other Solanaceous crops including eggplant and potato. The pest can spread from infested areas through various objects e.g. containers, packaging equipment, transportation vehicles, seedlings, etc. Farmers, outdoor markets, or vegetable repacking/distribution centers can become a potential source for the introduction and its spread.

While the communication among ASEAN states about the potential threat of P. absoluta has been minimal, the surveillance at possible entry points to thwart the spread if it appears should not be overlooked given the current intensification of trade and human movement. In order to set up a rigorous prevention, concerted effort and coordination from every ASEAN member state (AMS) is imperative since the cross-border invasion will be evitable only if everyone is able to detect and manage it on a timely manner. The AMS personnel in charge of detecting and alerting each other upon the arrival if that unfortunate incident arises unquestionably need proper training, which is the prerequisite of prevention.

The trainings on P. absoluta for AMS in 2022 have thus never been timelier and more appropriate. In the Philippines, 20 technical staff members (from the National Plant Quarantine Services Division; Crop Research and Production Support Division and Crop Pest Management Division of the Bureau of Plant Industry; Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and food Science of the University of the Philippines Los Banos) were given the training on diagnosis and management of invasive pest, P. absoluta on tomato at Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Department of Agriculture on November 14, 2023 by Dr. Srinivasan Ramasamy, Flagship Program Leader for Safe and Sustainable Value Chains & Lead Entomologist at World Vegetable Center. The training was under the One CGIAR Plant Health Initiative- Integrated Pest management for controlling pests and diseases of global and traditional vegetables project.

In the following month, the training on “Improved Coordination and Strengthened Capacity to Deal with the Invasive Insect Pest Phthorimaea absoluta in Mainland Southeast Asia” was organized for quarantine officers and plant protection officers from AMS.
It was supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).

27 selected entomologists, research scientists and quarantine officers from 10 AMS (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) assembled at WorldVeg- East and Southeast Asia Research and Training Center, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

They spent two weeks from December 4-17, 2022 to learn the ropes of how to set up appropriate monitoring systems and develop a plan/phytosanitary surveillance protocol. These included technical knowledge for morphological identification, various molecular techniques for identification, sampling techniques, monitoring and mass trapping system with the use of pheromone traps. Experts from WorldVeg; Rice Science Center, Kasetsart University; and Department of Agriculture, Thailand worked together to impart all the necessary techniques in a bid to help them gradually get the knack of pest identification.

Apart from the training inside the laboratory, all participants visited the wholesale market and demo plots. The current status of P. absoluta and other potential invasive insect pests from each country was shared among AMS. All trainees discussed and brainstormed for the first draft of the protocol, which was designed based on particular requirements of each country. Upon the return to their homeland, they will be able to lay out a more concrete phytosanitary process to detect, monitor and manage the pest.

In summary, all participants were provided both theories, technical knowledge and practices to develop a phytosanitary surveillance protocol for early detection. This serves to be an effective tool to prevent the imminent arrival of the pest in the years to come. In addition, each participating country can also share and discuss the surveillance results in the future. It will enormously benefit smallholder vegetable producers and other value-chain actors who are at risk of decimated production and supply shortages.

The training on diagnosis and management of invasive pest, P. absoluta on tomato in the Philippines.