A Survey Study on Date Palm Varieties Infected With The Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Some Districts In Wadi Hadhramout

Abstract

A comprehensive survey of the red palm weevil was conducted from October 2020 to February 2021 in 28 villages of the districts of Wadi Hadhramout (Tarim, Seiyun, Shibam Al-Qatun, Hura and Wadi Al-Ain). The study aimed to provide information on the infection of the red palm weevil in Wadi Hadhramout and its relationship to the cultivated date palm varieties. The results of the study showed that 1447 palm trees were infected with the red palm weevil out of a total of 19467 palms that were surveyed at a rate of 7.4% and that the old infection rate (more than a year) was 3.9%, and the new infestation rate (less than a year) reached 3.5% of the total date palms. The infected rate of red palm weevil infection varied according to the districts, where the highest infection was in Al-Qateen Directorate at 12.9%, followed by the Shibam district at 6.2%, and the lowest in the Tarim district by 2.3%. The results showed that the most affected varieties of the red palm weevil were the Barhi variety, where the average percentage of infested palms was 36.3%, superior the rest of the varieties in the infestation rate at a significant level of 5%, with the exception of the Khalas variety, which reached the percentage of infested palms 26.6%, but there are no significant differences at a significant level of 5% between the Khalas variety and the Al-Madini Variety, whose infection rate was 18.9%, followed by Al-sukari variety, where the infection rate was 7.7% compared to other local varieties such as Al-Majraf, and Al-Hamra, which are considered tolerant varieties to infection