Field Assessment of the Mass Trapping Technique for the Control of the Chickpea Leaf Miner Liriomyza cicerina

This work evaluated the chickpea leaf miner Liriomyza cicerina mass trapping technique as an alternative to insecticide spraying. A trap density of 2000 per ha was used. Trials were conducted in Beja during 2015 and 2016 using Nour variety. Leaves were sampled weekly from all treated and control plots and observed under binocular microscope. Regarding the reduction in infestation at harvest, results showed reductions of 20.11 and 18.13% respectively for chemical and mass trapping treatments compared to control. Efficacy also was assessed on the basis of captures and infestations reductions compared to control, the yield and 100-seeds weight. Results showed significant difference (at P < 0.05) between treatments, with 0.21 kg/m² grain yield for the control and 0.8 kg/m² for the chemical treatment and the mass trapping. Also, regarding the 100-seeds weight, it was 21.5g for the control and respectively 38.2 and 41.7 g with the chemical treatment and the mass trapping.