According to the press office of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Ukrainian sanitary inspectors have found a batch of infected tomatoes in the Kiev region. The Ukrainian authorities detained the cargo and sent Turkey a message stating that it does not meet this country's sanitary requirements.
The actual incident occurred at the Skhidny customs office in Prolisky village, on March 13. The inspectors found out that the tomatoes brought in from Turkey were infected with the South American moth. Its larvae feed voraciously upon tomato plants, producing large galleries in the leaves, will burrow into stalks and consume buds and green and ripe fruits. It is capable of causing a yield loss of 100%.
The tomato is the main host plant, but T. absoluta also attacks other crop plants of the nightshade family, including potato, eggplant, pepino, pepper and tobacco. It is known from many solanaceous weeds, including Datura stramonium, Lycium chilense, and Solanum nigrum.
112.international reports that the moth is repeatedly detected in locations across the globe - originally in South America, Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.