Date Injurious Insects A

Lecture To ToT trainees ( FFS)

By Mr. Allah Dad Khan

Provincial Coordinator IPM KPK

MINFAL Pakistan

Date Palm

Parlatoria date scaleParlatoria blanchardi

Symptoms Parlatoria blanchardii Targ

Discolored areas on leaflets where insects are feeding; leaflets turning yellow and fronds dying; discolored fruits; insect is a circular-oval scale

Cause Insect Comments Insect is a serious pest in Algeria,

Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia; attacks by the scale are very serious on young palms

Management Population of natural enemies coupled

with pruning of palms usually keeps scales under control; mineral based oils are effective against nymphs

Red scale, Phoenicococcus marlatti

Symptoms early stage of attack; All exposed portions of the

palm can be attacked by the pest. Heavy infestations could cause complete coverage of the leaf surfaces by scales, which will result in interference with the metabolic functions of the plant. Attacked leaves and underlying tissues may be damaged to a depth of a few millimetres and will consequently be killed in severe cases.

Red scale, Phoenicococcus marlatti

fi nal stage

Bou Faroua,

Symptoms Bou Faroua, also called Goubar

or Old World date mite, is caused by Oligonychus afrasiaticusMcGregor, and O. pratensis Banks. This mite is present in all date growing areas, and damage is severe in neglected plantations.

Immediately after fruit set (Hababouk stage), mite eggs are deposited to produce larvae which will feed on the fruits and later cover these with a web retaining sand particles. 

Caroub moth

Symptoms Caroub moth, also called "Ver

de la Datte" in French, is caused by Ectomyelois ceratoniae. Zeller, and is found in all date growing areas. The larva of the Caroub moth attacks dates in plantations, packing houses and stores. Eggs are laid on the dates and hatching begins four days later. The larval period is about three weeks in warm months and eight weeks in colder months. The pupal period is about fi ve days

Coconut rhinoceros beetleOryctes rhinoceros

Symptoms

V-shaped cuts in palm fronds or holes in leaf midribs caused by beetles boring into crown to feed; adult insect is a large black beetle with a curved spine on its head; larvae are creamy white grubs with brown heads and 3 sets of prolegs at the anterior (head) end

Cause Insect Comments Beetles are nocturnal and fly at night; also a

damaging pest of oil palm Management Destroy any decaying logs in plantation by

chopping and burning to kill any larvae that may be inside; remove any dead trees from plantation and destroy by burning; plant a cover crop to deter egg laying by females as they do not lay eggs in areas covered by vegetation; hooked wire can be used to extract larvae that are boring into young crowns

Red palm weevil and African palm weevil

The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliv., also called the Indian palm weevil

Termites (Microcerotermes diversus)

Symptoms Termites usually feed on

cellulose matter and the attack starts from the root zone and base of the offshoots by making vertical canals through it, or building soil-canals on it, allowing them to reach the stem. Where termites are found, they usually cause the death of newly planted offshoots. They may also make galleries in the trunks of weak palms and cause them to collapse.