Phytoparasitica (2003) 31 (3) - Control of red palm weevil ...

Mirit Hamburger, S. Bitton and J. Nakache (2003)
Control of red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a quarantine pest in Israel
Phytoparasitica 31 (3)
Abstracts 20th Conference of the Entomological Society of Israel, Feb. 11-12, 2003
Abstract: Surveillance and control of the Red PalmWeevil (RPW) started in the spring of 1999 in the southern Jordan Valley. The area of infestation, based on adult catches in aggregation pheromone traps, was delimited to 50 km, with 600 ha of date palm plantations. A professional consultative committee was appointed by the PPIS, composed of experts, extension service consultants, researchers, and local growers' organizations representatives. During a 4-year period, the following integrated pest control activities, supported officially under the Law of Plant Protection, were conducted: (a) Quarantine measures: RPW was declared a quarantine pest, and the area of infestation was declared a quarantine areas. (b) Mass trapping (10-20 traps per ha) in infested area. In 2002, density was reduced to one trap per 0.7 ha in infested plantations and one trap per 3 ha in areas where there were no catches. (c) Chemical treatment: Trunk spray and soil applications of contact and systemic insecticides- only in plantations where there were catches or infested trees. (d) Phytosanitation: Burning heavily infested trees; trunk injections and soil applications to infested trees, which were covered after treatment with white nets to prevent escape of adult weevils. (e) Agrotechnical measures: Drip irrigation to keep trunk dry, cutting offshoots, and chemical spraying of trunks to prevent infestation. (f) Early detection of infested trees by regular visual surveys in susceptible plantations, by specially trained sniffer dogs. After four seasons of RPW suppression, the number of catches was reduced from 324 in 2000 to 26 in 2002. The number of newly infested trees was 32 in 1999 and dropped to zero in 2002. This work demonstrated the efficiency of immediate detection of the pest, and the importance of multidisciplinary professional teamwork with close contacts with growers.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general
quarantine treatments/regulations/aspects

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Rhynchophorus ferrugineus	Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)	Israel