A tropical parasite spreads from Switzerland to Germany

A tropical parasite moves from Switzerland to Germany Keystone-SDA

A pest from the tropics is giving Swiss agriculture a hard time. The caterpillar of the tomato moth (Helicoverpa armigera) devours almost everything. The moth is now spreading northwards.

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In southern Germany, its vanguard is already causing damage. Switzerland has been monitoring the spread of the tomato moth (or Armiger moth) since 2024 using traps. In 2023, the caterpillar had already caused severe yield losses in market garden crops, up to and including total loss, explains the Swiss Federal Centre for Agricultural Research (Agroscope), interviewed by Keystone-ATS.

At the end of June, the traps contained more moths than in the previous year. The first damage of the season appeared on tomatoes south of the Alps.

In Germany, the caterpillars are already wreaking havoc on chickpeas. Butterfly caterpillars are worse for crops than the Japanese beetle, devouring well over a hundred useful plants.

Adapted from French by DeepL/ds

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