A.A. Sallam*1 , H.A.F.El-Shaf
Abstract
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the leading date producing countries accounting for nearly 15% of the global date production. Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) has been identified by the FAO of the United Nations as a ‘category-1’ insect pest of date palm in the Gulf region of the Middle-East and is a key pest of date palm in the Kingdom. We ascertained the vertical distribution of infestation due to RPW on the palm, age of infested palms, besides determining the influence of various date palm farming practices viz. type of cultivar infested, number of offshoots on infested palm, type of irrigation and spacing adopted on infestation levels by RPW in date palm by inspecting 393date plantations (234ha) in the Al-Hassa oasis of Saudi Arabia. Our results indicate that infestations were being detected early in the study area, as only 22% of the infested palms were in the advanced staged of attack warranting eradication. However, infestations were wide spread as 21 % of the plantations in this study registered infestation due to RPW. Further, results revealed that nearly 90% of the infestations occurred on the palm trunk between 0-100 cm from the ground with maximum infestations (36%) being recorded in the age group of 6 to 10 years. Khalas, the predominant date palm cultivar in the oasis registered 75 % of the infestations with the least cultivated male palm registering 6% infestation. Further, date palms without any off shoots recorded the highest infestation (79%), indicating that upon removal of offshoots the palm is exposed to attack by RPW especially when the fronds are pruned. Close spacing of palms at planting and open flood irrigation favours increased attack by RPW probably due to enhanced humidity in plantations resulting from these practices. Although, the pest was well managed in the study area, we propose for increased farmer participation the RPW management programme. Also, educating farmers on latest RPW management techniques in date palm orchards should be encouraged besides implementing plant quarantine regulations.