ABU DHABI- The Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation organised a virtual lecture, presenting "The Obstacles Facing Date Palm Farmers and Date Producers", by Dr. Ismail Al Hosani, Agricultural Advisor.
The lecture was attended by 74 participants, representing 13 countries, among which are members of the Date Palm Friends Society in the UAE, farmers, and agricultural experts.
This virtual lecture held via Zoom comes under the directives of Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, President of the Award’s Board of Trustees, and within the Award’s framework and commitment to spreading the scientific knowledge and awareness on Date Palm Best Practices. It was held to provide technical and scientific advice and support to farmers to help them improve the quality of dates.
Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, the Award’s Secretary-General, expressed his appreciation to the extended scientific and professional efforts done by agricultural advisors, in promoting the growth and development of the date palm cultivation and date production in the UAE.
Dr. Ismail Al Hosani, began the lecture by presenting a group of major insect infestations that lead to indisposed date palm trees and reduced production, and if neglected, the loss of the tree. It focused on the most important insects that infect the date palm tree with a high economic impact such as the red palm weevil, the palm grove borer insect, the palm stem borer insect, and the black blight.
Dr. Al Hosani, then referred to a group of infections that also causes poor fruit production such as the Humera and dust spider. While focusing on the Humera, he said it is one of the most important pests due to its severe impact on the date palm tree, as its larvae feed on the grown dates causing a high percentage of loss. The infected trees can be immediately identified by their dry red dates.
Furthermore, Dr. Al Hosani presented the symptoms of the black blight infection in date palm trees, the blackening, charring and deformation of the tree and blackening and dwarfism that appears on pollen are all indications of an infected tree.
Highlighting the date palm tree borer as it is one of the most dangerous pests that can attack a date palm tree, he described as a long brown beetle that forms in a large white larva. It grows to a stage of being curved, thick, wrinkled, and has pectoral legs, with which it causes the most damage to the fronds, spines. It leads to a stage where the tree core becomes perforated, as it digs deep tunnels that lead to the dryness and breakage of the fronds. It also results in the growth of very small dates that have no commercial value, as it feeds on the growing dates.
© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.
