ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Occurrence of the Red Palm Weevil
Rhynchophorusferrugineus (Oliv.) Infesting
Date Palm Plantations and its Control
in Saudi Arabia
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Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Submission date: 2024-03-22
Final revision date: 2024-05-25
Acceptance date: 2024-06-28
Online publication date: 2024-10-07
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ABSTRACT
The current study aimed to estimate the numbers of R. ferruginous adults using attractive
pheromone traps in a private date palm plantation and its correlation to two climatic factors and its
control throughout two years (2021-2022) in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah city of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Our findings exhibited that R. ferrugineus infestation was prevalent throughout the year on
date palm trees, with four seasonal peaks per year, which were recorded at the beginning of March,
mid-May, mid-July, and the beginning of October 2021. Afterward, the pest invasion occurred at the
beginning of March, at the beginning of May, at the beginning of July, and mid-September throughout
the second year (2022). The daily mean relative humidity percentage and the daily mean air temperature
in degrees Celsius had different effects on R. ferrugineus population activity per year. The best
predictor of changes in bug numbers was the daily mean air temperature. Following the completion of
a 72-hour laboratory test to evaluate the efficacy of various pesticides. With LC50 values of 9.112 ppm,
the results indicated that chlorpyrifos was the chemical most hazardous to R. ferrugineus. Methidation
was the least harmful, though.