The vegetable crops are threatened by the invasion of Tuta absoluta – an insect that caused havoc in the tomato fields near the southern town Cahul last year. This year they are moving towards the center of the country.

The Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs (CNFA), which is implementing the USAID Farmer to Farmer Program, invited an expert from the U.S. to Moldova to provide free advice how to overcome the danger. The expert will put a number of traps in vegetable fields in different areas of the country, IPN reports.

Until now, the Moldovan producers faced threats from a similar insect, which forms part of the same family. The difference is that the first is a fly, while Tuta absoluta is a moth that causes much serious damage.

Tuta absoluta is a species of moth known by the common names tomato leafminer and South American tomato moth. It is well known as a serious pest of tomato crops in Europe and South America. Tomato is the main host plant, but Tuta absoluta also attacks other crop plants, including potato, eggplant,  and tobacco. In favorable weather conditions eight to ten generations can occur in a single year, spreading at a speed of 300-400 km.