This work, aimed to study the translaminar, systemic and contact action of aqueous neem seeds extracts on the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick). Three experiments with aqueous neem seeds extracts at concentrations of 0.5; 1.0; 5.0 and 10.0g/100 mL of water were conducted. These extracts were applied in the soil, in adaxial surface of the tomato plant foliole and directly over the insect. When the extracts were applied in the soil of pots containing tomato plants, the larval mortality rate was 48.3% to 100.0%, indicating that the extracts were absorbed and transferred inside the plant. There was also a larval mortality of 57.0% to 100.0% when the extracts were applied over the foliole adaxial surface, which shows the translaminar action. When the extracts were applied directly over larvae six days old, the larval mortality rate was 52.4% to 95.4%, which shows the action of contact of the extracts and its potential to control the tomato leafminer.
Insecticide plant; Azadirachta indica; tomato leafminer
