Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009
Gulf News
Ras Al Khaimah The red palm weevil has been the standout threat for palm tree cultivators in Ras Al Khaimah over the last few years and agricultural research centres in the UAE have been hard-pressed to find ways to halt their destructive march.
Farmers in Ras Al Khaimah said the danger of a red weevil infestation is that they only realise the damage when trees die out or are on the verge of falling to the ground.
Saleh Ahmad Al Zaabi, a farmer from the northern parts of the emirate, said it takes only about 5-6 months for the red weevils to kill a palm tree. He said the pests attack trees in big numbers and the problem could spread to the entire farm from a single tree.
He added that the losses of those growing palm trees have been huge and that some of the farmers had given up hope and had abandoned their farms.
Al Zaabi stressed that government departments had been exerting every effort to curb the menace and had managed to bring the problem under control to an extent of late. Early detection of the pest is the best start one can hope to get in an extermination battle, he added.
He said farms apart, palm trees around houses and in public places have also fallen prey to the pests.
Traps not foolproof
Eisa Ebrahim, another Emirati farmer, said the worst news a farmer could receive was spotting a red weevil in the farm as it could signify "the beginning of the end of his agricultural business". People had lost entire farms to the pest, Ebrahim said.
He said that, for the past many years, farmers have been rigorously complying with instructions of the agricultural research centres in combating the red palm weevils. He recounted how he himself had received traps for the insects and installed them in his plantation but even then the objective had only been partially achieved.
The damage on farms was so huge it could not be borne by farmers on their own, he said, acknowledging the support from authorities. Without such assistance, farmers in the area would never have been able to carry on and would have been forced to abandon their livelihood, he added.
He said farmers had been employing every available method of protection from the red palm weevils and remained open to implementing new methods recommended by the ministry and experts.
By Nasouh Nazzal, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
