Introduction:

The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), the most threatening pest for tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L., production worldwide, may cause total losses, and is difficult to control. Thus, understanding its populations dynamic in the crop is a priority to mitigate damage.

Objective:

Herein, population parameters of T. absoluta were evaluated in tomato var. Sonero in the greenhouse, in three management systems (commercial, maximum population and total control).

Methods:

During 25 weeks in La Union, Antioquia, Colombia, mathematical models were applied to describe the populations of larvae and adults (males) in time, as related to production parameters and associated losses.

Results:

The intrinsic growth rate was 0.447 larvae per week. The Gaussian and exponential models described best the population over time. The losses were associated with weight and number of marketable fruits, and with total production weight, and number of clusters and total fruits.

Conclusion:

T. absoluta larvae have growth exponentially in a ventilated greenhouse, with a smaller intrinsic growth rate than that calculated by life tables in the laboratory.