{rfName}
Ne

Indexed in

License and use

Citations

42

Altmetrics

Grant support

De Ceuster Meststoffen N.V., Belgium; Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Belgium; The fruit and vegetable auction Cooperatie Hoogstraten, Belgium; Biobest Group N.V., Belgium

Analysis of institutional authors

Pekas, ApostolosAuthor

Share

August 8, 2025
Publications
>
Article
No

Nesidiocoris tenuisas a pest in Northwest Europe: Intervention threshold and influence ofPepino mosaicvirus

Publicated to:Journal Of Applied Entomology. 144 (7): 566-577 - 2020-07-06 144(7), DOI: 10.1111/jen.12789

Authors: Moerkens, Rob; Pekas, Apostolos; Bellinkx, Stijn; Hanssen, Inge; Huysmans, Marlies; Bosmans, Lien; Wackers, Felix

Affiliations

Biobest Grp NV, Westerlo, Belgium - Author
De Ceuster Meststoffen NV, Grobbendonk, Belgium - Author
Res Ctr Hoogstraten Vzw, Hoogstraten, Belgium - Author

Abstract

The use ofNesidiocoris tenuis(Hemiptera: Miridae) as a biocontrol agent is controversial as it is considered a pest in Northwest European tomato greenhouses, due to its tendency to damage the plant and fruit. Necessary chemical plant protection products to controlN.tenuishave toxic side effects on important beneficials likeMacrolophus pygmaeus(Hemiptera: Miridae), which jeopardizes the whole IPM programme. In this study, several commercial tomato greenhouses were monitored for mirid populations. The relationship between the number ofN. tenuisindividuals and plant damage was assessed in function of availability of prey and interaction withM. pygmaeus. These greenhouse data were used to determine a practical density intervention threshold. Next, the hypothesis that aPepino mosaicvirus (PepMV) infection increases plant and fruit damage byN. tenuis(as has been shown forM. pygmaeus) was tested. Plant damage occurred when the average number of predatory bugs in the head of the plant exceeded 16 per ten plants. Plant damage increased in severity at increasing predatory bug densities, independent of the availability of prey andM. pygmaeuspresence. Plant and fruit damage were not affected by the presence of PepMV, as was shown for fruit damage in previous studies forM. pygmaeus. Our study provides a practical density intervention threshold for growers in greenhouse crops. Simple monitoring of the number of predatory bugs in the head of the plant can be used to take specific biocontrol actions. It was also shown that only the predatory bugN. tenuisitself causes damage, and there is no interaction with PepMV.

Keywords

Biological-controlDamageGreenhouseHemiptera-miridaeHorticultureLepidoptera-gelechiidaeMacrolophus pygmaeusMacrolophus-pygmaeusMiridaePlant damagePlant-responsesResistancTemperatureTomatTomato cropsTuta-absoluta

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal Of Applied Entomology due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 21/102, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Entomology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.96. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 4.4 (source consulted: Dimensions Aug 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-08-22, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 21

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-08-22:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 38.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 38 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 10.95.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 11 (Altmetric).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Belgium.