Description

The confirmation of Tuta absoluta is the first of the insect’s presence in the country. Tuta causes damage primarily to tomato but could also affect other crops, making it a risk to food security and agricultural production in countries where it is found. The confirmation was made possible through efforts of scientists at Virginia Tech, Senegal’s Direction de la Protection des Vegetaux (Crop Protection Agency), the Institut Senegalais de Recherche Agricole (Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.