Seasonal incidence of the leaf miner Liriomyza cicerina Rond (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in chickpea fields and effects of climatic parameters, chickpea variety, and planting date on the leaf miner infestation rate

In the last few years, chickpea yield losses in North Africa due to the chickpea leaf miner Liriomyza cicerina (Diptera: Agromyzidae) have exceeded 40%, especially for spring crops. However, the biology and ecology of this insect in Tunisia have not been studied. Thus, in the present work, the population dynamics of L. cicerina and the damage caused by this pest to both winter and spring chickpea crops (Cicer arietinum L.) in North Tunisia were investigated. The study was conducted according to a split plot design during the 2015, 2016, and 2017 crop seasons in Beja (northwestern Tunisia). Five chickpea varieties—three winter varieties (cv. Beja1, cv. Nour, and cv. Nayer) and two spring varieties (cv. Amdoun1 and an advanced line, X07TH106-A3)—were grown. Results showed that L. cicerina produces three annual generations and that the environmental conditions—especially climatic parameters—significantly influence the abundance and distribution of this pest on both winter and spring varieties of chickpea. Infestation with leaf miners was particularly prominent during the flowering and pod-setting stages, with mean infestation rates of 70.2% and 94.6% observed for winter and spring crops, respectively. The infestation rate increased when the sowing date was delayed. Furthermore, results revealed that agromorphological characteristics were significantly correlated with the infestation rate. This study provides important insights into the population biology of L. cicerina, the damage caused by this pest, and its ecology—information that is required to establish a robust and effective pest control program.