Greenhouse transgenic trap cropping strategies for the Cabbage Looper Moth

New strategies of pest management are required to counter the rise of insecticide-resistance in populations of greenhouse pest insects, for example Trichoplusia ni (Hübner), the cabbage looper moth. One alternative is to use trap crops - the practice of planting attractive, disposable plants within the main crop arrangement to draw pests away from the crop of interest. In this study, transgenic Solanum lycopersicum (L) tomato was genetically modified to over-express the gene that regulates carotenoid cleavage deoxygenase 1 (CCD1) enzymes resulting in altered production of tomato volatiles. The objectives of the study are to assess the attraction of cabbage looper moths to volatiles emitted by transgenic tomato lines relative to wild-type, as well as to determine if the response becomes modified post-oviposition. Experimental methods will involve Y-tube olfactometer bioassays to evaluate moth preference for different lines of tomato plants, pre- and post-oviposition, as well as Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectroscopy analyses to determine volatile expression differences between transgenic plant lines and wild-type tomato. The olfactometer results indicate preference towards developed transgenic lines, and GC-MS data collected depicts volatile expression changes when comparing wild-type profiles to transgenic profiles. Evidence of preference for transgenic tomato over wild type, along with GC-MS data providing evidence of volatile expression differences between transgenic and wild-type tomatoes, indicates that there is potential for further investigation into transgenic trap cropping for possible commercial usage.