Tuta absoluta, (Tomato leaf Miner) also known as tomato ebola, has continued to ravage agricultural produce in the country, especially perishable agricultural products like tomatoes.
Tuta absoluta commonly regarded as a notorious pest of not only tomato plants, but other crop plants of the nightshade family, including potatoes, eggplants, pepper and tobacco has continued to ravage Nigerian tomato plants causing yield loss and scarcity of the produce.
In a statement, last night on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) with the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, he revealed that the pest has infested six states in Nigeria: Jigawa, Kano, Kastina, Lagos, Plateau and Bauchi.
“The pest whose spread is believed to come from the Niger Republic could cause more problems and make it impossible for the country to grow tomatoes if not combated soonest by the Government,” the Minister remarked.
The pest’s ability to infest tomato farms within 10 to 12 hours and its ability to deliver 300 eggs in destruction of farm yield is a serious cause for concern as the Minister called on appropriate quarters to treat the matter with urgency.
Tomato Ebola is the reason tomatoes prices have sky rocketed in the past few weeks as Nigerians seek an alternative to tomatoes to the ones packed in tins.