Persian Gulf Crop Protection, 3(1): 92-118 92
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Persian Gulf Crop Protection Available online on: www.cropprotection.ir ISSN: 2251-9343 (online) Volume 3 Issue 1, March 2014 Pages 92-118 Area-wide Integrated Management of Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier 1790) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Date Palm Plantations: A Review H.A.F. El-Shafie 1* 1- Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, P. O. Box 400 Al-Ahsa- 31982, Saudi Arabia (*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]). Abstract : The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus is an internal tissue borer that inflicts serious damage to date palm and other palm trees. It causes a particular economic threat to date palm growers in the Middle East and North African countries. The cryptic nature of the weevil protects it from harsh external environmental conditions and makes its early detection and control extremely difficult. This article reviews the progress that has been made in area-wide management of RPW during the last decade. Emphasis was given to management tactics such as mass trapping using aggregation pheromone, early detection, and biological control. Key Words: Date palm, red palm weevil, mass trapping, area-wide management, ferrugineol, action threshold Persian Gulf Crop Protection, 3(1): 92-118 92 Introduction appeared to be a major pest of date palm in The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L. the Middle East during the mid-1980s (family Arecaceae, syn. Palmaceae) is a (Abraham et al., 1998). Intensive date diploid, perennial, dioecious, and palm farming practices, the morphology of monocotyledonous plant adapted to arid date palm tree and the microclimatic environments (Chao and Krueger, 2007). conditions prevailing in the date palm Beyond the arid climates, date palm can plantation in the Middle East provided also be grown in many other countries for suitable breeding sites for RPW (Faleiro, food or as an ornamental plant including 2006). The RPW is now managed through the continents of Americas, southern RPW-IPM program using an array of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The management tactics (Abraham et al., majority of date palm-growing areas are 1998). This article reviews the progress located in developing or underdeveloped thathas been made in area-wide countries where date fruit is considered the management of RPW during the last primary food and cash crop (Sanderson, decade with emphasis on management 2001). The earliest evidence of date palm tactics including mass trapping, early cultivation goes back to 4000 BCE in Ur, detection and biological control. The future lower Mesopotamia (now Iraq), while in prospect of AW-RPW-IPM, in the light of the Nile Valley, date palm cultivation goes advances in biological sciences, is back to 3000 BCE (Erskine et al., 2011). discussed. The area under date palm cultivation Biology and bionomics of RPW: The host almost doubled from 1990 to 2007 (0.63 to range of RPW covers primary three palm 1.23 million hectares). The total world families, viz., Arecaceae, Agavaceae, and productionof dates was 7.51million metric Poaceae. In the Arecaceae, 30 plant species tons (MMT) in 2011, which represented were reported to be hosts for the weevil. analmost 120% increase as compared to Only one host plant species each was the 1990 production of 3.43 MMT reported from the two other families: meaning that world date cultivation and Agave Americana L. (Agavaceae) and production have shown positive growth Saccharum officinarum L. (Poaceae). (FAO, 2012). Diseases and pests are the Thus, RPW is regarded as a pest with high main biotic constraints that hamper date specificity to the family Arecaceae palm cultivation and production, but the (Murphy and Briscoe, 1999; Faleiro, 2006; nature and severity of the problems vary Blumberg, 2008; Dembilio and Jacas, with cultivar, location, weather, and 2012). The adult is reddish brown cultural practices (Carpenter and Elmer, cylindrical weevil with a long curved and 1978; Zaid et al., 2002).In recent time, the pointed snout or rostrum. The male can be red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus distinguished from the female by the ferrugineus (Olivier 1790) (Coleoptera: presence of a turf of reddish brown hairs Curculionidae) poses a serious threat to along the dorsal aspect of the snout commercial date groves, ornamental (Blumberg, 2008).Adult weevils have dark landscape plantings and native stands of spots on the upper side of the thorax. The palm trees worldwide (Rugman-Jones et head and rostrum comprise about one third al., 2013). It causes a particular economic of total body length. In male, a patch of threat for date palm growers in the Middle short brownish hairs covers the dorsal East and North African countries (Al- apical half of the rostrum. Instead, the Ayedh and Rasool, 2010). The center of female rostrum is bare, more slender, origin of RPW is thought to be Southeast curved and little longer than in male. Adult Asia and Melanesia where it is a key pest females are significantly bigger than males of coconut Cocos nucifera(Nirula, 1956; (Dembilio and Jacas, 2011). Adult red Wattanapongsiri, 1966). The weevil only palm weevils display a high degree of Persian Gulf Crop Protection, 3(1): 92-118 93 color polymorphism that has challenged elongate, oval cylindrical cocoons made taxonomists and other researchers for over out of fibrous strands. Pre-pupal and pupal two centuries (Rugman-Jones et al., 2013). stages take 3 and 12-20 days respectively Normally the newly emerged adults remain (Faleiro, 2006) and the total life cycle of in the pupal cocoons for few days before the pest may vary from 45 days to 139 they mate and take off to new host. The days (Esteban-Duran et al., 1998, Murphy female starts oviposition 1 to 7 days after and Briscoe, 1999). (Dembilio and Jacas, mating and continues for 25 to 63 days 2011) reported that larger larval instars laying about 276 eggs (Leo Justin et al., feed in the palm core and smaller ones in 2008). The female digs out small holes by the periphery of canary palms. They also its rostrum on tender tissues of young reported that the thermal constant for eggs palms up to 7 years old and lays eggs in to hatch was 40.4 DD (degree days) under the leaf axils. Wounds and cuts in palms laboratory conditions and for complete serve as oviposition sites for females. larval development in Canary palm was Injuries made by rhinoceros beetles or by 666.5 DD and another 282.5 DD to reach diseases predispose palm to infestation by adulthood. They concluded that the weevil the red palm weevil. No elaborate may complete two generations per year courtship behavior was observed in this under the prevailing environmental weevil and mating take place at any time conditions in Spain, and in cooler place, of the day and the weevil becomes active the weevil may complete only one during twilight (Nirula, 1956). The female generation. They observed that a minimum mates several times (polygamous) during of two generation are necessary to kill a its life cycle and the sperms of latest Canary palm. This has an important matings are used for fertilizing the eggs. implication for the management of the Interspecific mating is possible in the pest. (Rahalkar et al., 1972) reported the absence of elaborate mating behavior and occurrence of 3 to 4 generations per year in differences in genetalia (Ramachandran, India in sugarcane. Depending on the 1998). RPW is a holometabolous insect lower temperature threshold (LTT) and with four distinct stages viz., egg, larva, thermal constant, the number of pupa and adult. The egg is creamy white in generations can be determined. However, color, elongate oval in shape and measures most of the work done so far was on 2.62 mm in length and 1.12 mm in width. artificial diet, palm logs which is far away It hatches in 2-3 days into legless from what is actually running inside a (apodous) larva or grub which bore into the living palm. Penetration sites are usually interior of the palm and feeds on the covered with offshoots and fibers as the succulent tissues. The larva moves through larvae feed they produce frass (chewed up peristaltic muscular contraction of the plant fibers) which combine with plant sap bodyand undergoes several instars before and this fills the tunnels made by the larvae the pupal stage. The full-grown larva or (Blumberg, 2008). (Dembilio and Jacas grub is stout, fleshy, apodous and with a 2011) estimated the mean immature conical body bulged in the middle and mortality to be 66.7% when they tapering towards the ends (Leo Justin, introduced a total of 2304 neonate larvae in 2008). It measures about 50mm in length 144 Canary palms and after dissecting the and 20mm in width on an average and palms they recovered a total of 555 larvae, fully-grown instar can weigh about 7.2 g 135 pupae, and 87 adults. They observed (Elshafie et al., 2013). The larval period the maximum mortality rate (100%) in lasts for 25-105 days (Wattapogansri, December and January and maximum 1966; Avand Faghih, 1996; Abraham et survival rate during April through al., 2002) while pupal development may September. High peaks of weevil activity, take 11- 45 days and the grub pupate in during April-May followed by another Persian Gulf Crop Protection, 3(1): 92-118 94 peak in October-November, was reported mobility of the weevil has resulted in its from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia widespread within the palm groves (Vidyasager et al., 2000), Egypt (El-Sebay, (Wattanapongsiri, 1966). The relatively 2003), Israel (Soroker et al., 2005) and long life of the larvae or grubs which are Spain (Llacer et al., 2009). (Faleiro et al., the destructive stage, they can live 25-105 2002) evaluated population dispersion days and undergo several larval instars parameters and different dispersion indices before pupation.