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Glite Dictionary
tomato fruitworm

tomato fruitworm

8.7
A caterpillar that eats and damages crops like tomatoes and corn
  • noun
  • /təˈmeɪtoʊ ˈfruːtˌwɜrm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gusano del tomate
  • The tomato fruitworm can cause significant damage to tomato plants if not controlled.

Examples

  • Also known as the corn earworm, cotton bollworm, soybean podworm, or tomato fruitworm, it costs U.S. farmers nearly $1 billion annually in crop losses and control expenses.

    Academic text (1995)

  • They're waging war in Texas against Heliocoverpa zea, alias the corn earworm, cotton bollworm, or tomato fruitworm.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Farmers must monitor their fields carefully to detect the presence of tomato fruitworms early.

  • If left untreated, the tomato fruitworm may destroy an entire crop of tomatoes within weeks.

Synonyms

corn earworm
vstomato fruitworm
  • Specialized
8.1

A caterpillar that eats and damages corn and other crop plants

is the same pest but named for its damage to garden-grown fruit crops

Surface Forms

tomato fruitworm singular
tomato fruitworms plural

Morphology

tomato + fruitworm

The meaning is directly compositional: 'tomato' + 'fruitworm' denotes a fruitworm that attacks tomatoes (a larval pest). This noun–noun compound follows a transparent, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the referent.

Etymology

Tomato fruitworm comes from a simple picture: a small worm-like caterpillar living inside and eating the soft tomato fruit. So, the name now refers to the young caterpillar that eats and damages tomatoes and other crops.