Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection Waqas Wakil Jose Romeno Faleiro Thomas A. Miller Editors Sustainable Pest Management in Date Palm: Current Status and Emerging Challenges Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection Series editor Aurelio Ciancio, Sezione di Bari, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante, Bari, Italy More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13031 Waqas Wakil • Jose Romeno Faleiro Thomas A. Miller Editors Sustainable Pest Management in Date Palm: Current Status and Emerging Challenges Editors Waqas Wakil Jose Romeno Faleiro Department of Entomology Food and Agriculture Organization University of Agriculture of the United Nations Faisalabad , Punjab , Pakistan IPM (Red Palm Weevil) Al-Ahsa , Saudi Arabia Thomas A. Miller Department of Entomology University of California Riverside , CA , USA Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection ISBN 978-3-319-24395-5 ISBN 978-3-319-24397-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24397-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015958728 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 Chapter 9 was created within the capacity of an US governmental employment. US copyright protection does not apply. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www. springer.com) ( Photo courtesy: Chester N. Roistacher ) This book is dedicated to John B. Carpenter in recognition of his pioneering work and worldwide reputation as an authority on date palm culture, particularly with regard to pathology and integrated pest management. He was born in 1915 and graduated from the University of Idaho. He received his PhD in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1941. His initial research was on fi re blight of apples and Phytophthora diseases of potatoes. After working as Senior Plant Pathologist for the USDA Rubber Disease Investigation Unit in La Hulera, Turrialba, Costa Rica, he returned to USA in 1954 and began a long career as Senior Plant Pathologist at the USDA Date and Citrus Station in Indio, California. During the latter part of his career, Carpenter served as the station superintendent, retiring in 1982 when the Indio Station was closed by an Act of Congress. In the 1980s, Carpenter was appointed as Cooperative Extension Specialist and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Riverside, USA. He also had an appointment as Research Associate (with faculty privileges) in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Riverside. In addition to being a prominent citrus pathologist, he oversaw the U.S. Date and Citrus Station’s date palm germplasm collection and breeding program after the retirement of J.R. Furr. When the Indio station was closed, he was instrumental in salvaging important date palm germplasm, ensuring its survival and continued existence. After his retirement, Carpenter consulted in many countries regarding date palm culture, resulting in many improvements in date palm culture around the world. Carpenter was the co-author with H.S. Elmer of the book “Pests and Diseases of the Date Palm”, which was for many years the standard reference in this fi eld and still contains authoritative information on many date palm pests and diseases. Foreword Invasive species are an ineluctable problem in agriculture. Today, with rapidly increasing mobility, commerce and transportation, we have to deal with invasive species occurring at an increasing rate. Moreover, in the modern era, crop plants have been dispersed around the world as market demands create opportunities. It is estimated that worldwide there are over 100 million date palms, Phoenix dactylifera L., cultivated mostly in the arid regions of the world. Increasing global production of dates has signifi cantly improved the livelihood and income security among rural communities of date farmers in several date producing countries, lead- ing to increased internal and external trade of dates and date-based products. The world production of dates has signifi cantly increased from 1.8 million tons in 1962 to nearly 8.0 million in 2012. Climate change, due to global warming, is adversely impacting mankind. This is especially deleterious in arid countries of the world where desertifi cation is a common phenomenon. In this context, the date palm is very useful, for its capability to withstand adverse climate changes; simultaneously providing an environment with a micro-climate in the desert, enabling farmers to grow multiple crops. Countries with rich agricultural heritage have found it necessary to provide their growers with guidance and advice for agricultural pest and disease problems. This volume on Date Palm Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a part of an increasing trend to provide such guidance and advice globally. Certainly, any country that har- vests dates, and even those using other palms as ornamentals, are in need of advice and information about pest management. When new pests arrive or fi nally catch up to date palms that have been cultivated far from their original location, local experts are forced to turn to countries which have dealt with the same pest for many years for primary advice and information. Moreover, foreign exploration for natural enemies of pest insects is an important aspect of IPM. Increasingly, all countries are engaged in IPM jointly; regardless of the exact agricultural portfolio that they support. The principles employed try to achieve sus- tainability and support biodiversity. We face common enemies and challenges. The current revolution occurring in electronic communication means that we are in for vii viii Foreword greater contact with a greater audience than ever before. This will certainly lead to new opportunities and innovations coming from increased interactions in all fi elds of science including IPM. Intensifi cation of sustainable crop production has been FAO’s strategic objective. In order to achieve this objective, FAO has endorsed the “Ecosystem Approach” in agricultural management, including IPM, combining dif- ferent management practices to grow high quality crops and minimize pesticide use. In this context, this book comprehensively addresses various issues related to sus- tainable IPM of date palm pests through the expertise of leading authors worldwide. It will serve as a guide and resource to administrators, researchers, academicians, students and farmers. University of Agriculture Iqrar Ahmad Khan Faisalabad , Pakistan Vice Chancellor April, 2015 Pref ace Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae), is important to the agrar- ian economy of several countries in arid regions of the world. Enhanced monocul- ture of date palm in several date palm growing countries coupled with global warming, unrestrained use of chemical insecticides, and extensive international trade is likely to have an impact on the species diversity and density of pest complex and related natural enemies in the date palm agro-ecosystem. During the last two decades there has been a signifi cant increase in the production area of date palms especially in the Middle East and North Africa, which are the pre-dominant date palm growing regions worldwide. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN estimates that there are over 100 million date palms with an annual world’s production of nearly 8 million tons. The development of sustainable pest manage- ment strategies in date palm is vital to meet the existing and emerging pest challenges. The crop is attacked by a wide range of insect pests and phytophagous mites, causing serious losses in yield and is some cases death of palm trees. The increase in monoculture plantations of palms during the last two decades has been accompa- nied by an increase in arthropod pest challenges. Additionally, climate change and large scale movement of palm species for farming and ornamental gardening has also increased the invasive species events compounding the problems of crop protection. Over the past 20 years those of us living in the temperate zone have been witness to an unprecedented spread of classic pests of palm trees as invasive species. The effect of red palm weevil, in particular, in the greater Mediterranean area has been catastrophic. Iconic palm trees, used largely as ornamentals, are being protected by extraordinary measures including