Effect of date fruits quantity on the numbers of red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), captured in aggregation pheromone traps

Abstract

Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is controlled using Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which depends on the aggregation pheromone traps. Field trials were conducted on 3 date palm plantations in Al Rahba, Abu Dhabi, UAE, from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011 containing 6 replications and 3 treatments (350g, 450 g and 550 g of dates). Result of 18 traps indicated that the highest catch of adults RPW was in March and April 2011 with an average of 93.3 and 70.8 weevils/trap, respectively while the lowest catch was in September 2010 with an average of 5.5 weevils/Trap. The total number of captured weevils was 6147 of which 2067 were males and 4080 were females with sex ratio (1:2). The data presented that there are significant differences between the 3 treatments. The traps baited with 450 g of dates recorded the highest catch with2230 weevils, followed by the treatment 350 g of dates with 2037 weevils while the treatment 550 g of dates, was the lowest with 1880 weevils. Consequence of aggregation pheromone traps of RPW with 450 g of dates as baits using black bucket traps. More investigations are needed to improve the effectiveness of this technique