Sustainable management of potato tuber moths using eco-friendly dust formulations during storage in the Andean highlands

• Autores: Villanueva Spelucín, Alex, Escobal Valencia, Fernando, Cántaro Segura, Héctor Baroni, Diaz Morales, Luis Alberto, Matsusaka Quiliano, Daniel Claudio
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2026
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria
• Repositorio: INIA-Institucional
• Lenguaje: inglés
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.inia.gob.pe:20.500.12955/3010
• Enlace del recurso: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12955/3010; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects17010086
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Potato tuber moth; Symmetrischema tangolias; Storage protection; Bacillus thuringiensis; Agricultural lime; Industrial talc; Wood ash; Andean highlands; Polilla de la papa; Protección del almacenamiento; Cal agrícola; Talco industrial; Ceniza de madera; Altiplano andino; https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.01.06; Papa; Potatoes; Tortricidae; Control biológico de plagas; Biological pest control; Bioplaguicida; Biopesticides; Gestión de lucha integrada; Integrated pest management; Lepidoptera

Postharvest losses caused by potato tuber moths severely impact storage in the Andean highlands, where reliance on synthetic insecticides poses sustainability and safety concerns. This study evaluated eco-friendly alternatives for protecting stored seed tubers of the widely adopted cultivar INIA 302 Amarilis in Cajamarca, Peru. In two storage facilities, a completely randomized block design compared four treatments: Bacillus thuringiensis plus talc (Bt-talc), talc, agricultural lime, and wood ash against an untreated control. Powders were applied at 50 g per 10 kg of tubers, and incidence, severity of damage, and live larvae were assessed over 150 days. Bt–talc consistently achieved the lowest damage. Incidence in Cochapampa was 16.8% ± 6.2 with Bt-talc, compared with 58.1% ± 3.9 in the control; in Sulluscocha, incidence was 25.5% ± 4.8 and 64.2% ± 3.0 for Bt-talc and the control, respectively. A similar pattern was observed for moth-damage severity in both localities. Live larvae per unit were also markedly lower with 1.3 ± 0.3 (Cochapampa) and 1.6 ± 0.6 (Sulluscocha) under Bt–talc. A single dusting with Bt–talc, or alternatively agricultural lime, offers effective, accessible, and sustainable control of potato tuber moths in high-Andean storage.