Grow tall American marigold as a trap crop: plant 40-day-old marigold and 25-day-old tomato seedlings at the same time, in a 1:16 row ratio. Set up pheromone traps at 12 per hectare. Collect and destroy damaged fruits and grown-up caterpillars. Release Trichogramma chilonis at 1 lakh per hectare every 7 days from flower initiation. Spray HaNPV at 1.5 x 10^12 POB per hectare, or azadirachtin 1% EC at 2 ml per litre, or Bacillus thuringiensis at 2 g per litre in the evening.
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Horticulture Crops 2020 (Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Tomato – Plant protection (Fruit borer), pp. 59–60
Region
Tamil Nadu
Last updated
2026-11-04
Whitefly, leaf curl and spotted wilt
Whitefly spreads leaf curl virus: install yellow sticky traps at 12 per hectare and remove the alternate weed host Abutilon indicum. For tomato spotted wilt, select healthy seedlings for transplanting and rogue out infected plants up to 45 days after planting.
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Horticulture Crops 2020 (Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Tomato – Plant protection (Whitefly, leaf curl, spotted wilt), pp. 60–62
Region
Tamil Nadu
Last updated
2026-11-04
Damping off and wilt
Damping off (nursery): treat seeds with Trichoderma asperellum at 4 g/kg or Pseudomonas fluorescens at 10 g/kg 24 hours before sowing, apply P. fluorescens to soil at 2.5 kg/ha with 50 kg of FYM, and avoid water stagnation. Fusarial wilt and root knot nematode: solarize the soil before preparing the nursery bed; use P. fluorescens as seed treatment (10 g/kg), nursery application (20 g/m²), seedling dip (5 g/l) and soil application (2.5 kg with 50 kg FYM per hectare at 30 days after transplanting).
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Horticulture Crops 2020 (Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Tomato – Diseases (Damping off; Fusarial wilt & root knot nematode), pp. 61–62
Region
Tamil Nadu
Last updated
2026-11-04
IPM package for tomato
Seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens (10 g/kg); nursery application of Trichoderma viride and P. fluorescens; neem cake at 250 kg/ha; soil application of P. fluorescens at 2.5 kg/ha; select good, virus-free seedlings; rogue out virus-infected plants up to 45 days after transplanting; grow marigold as a border crop; Helicoverpa and Spodoptera pheromone traps at 12 per hectare; release Trichogramma chilonis at 50,000 per hectare; yellow sticky traps; and neem formulations (1%) or neem seed kernel extract (5%).
The source lists many insecticides and fungicides for tomato pests and diseases. Many are hazardous, and some may be restricted. Choose a product only with your local Agriculture Officer.
Follow the instructions on the product label. Consult your local Agriculture Officer before use.
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Horticulture Crops 2020 (Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Tomato – Plant protection, pp. 59–62
