The author of this article duly acknowledges different authors and institutions for referring their work and using the data.
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Palm Borers in Iraqi Environment
Species - Damages - Methods of Control
INTRODUCTION:
Date Palm Trees Phoenix dactylifera are the most important fruit trees economically, these trees and its fruits are infested by different insect pests. The major insect pests attack date palm trees are the borers which infest different parts of tree in different parts of the world including Iraq, Iran, Gulf countries, Middle East countries and neighboring countries causing damages to stems ( trunk),fronds and fruit stalks (Bunches). Which resulted in stems ( trunk) and leaves (fronds) broken and then effect dates production. Feeding of the borers larvae inside date palm trees causes reduction in fruits size and its economic and marketing values. Date Palm Trees different in its sensitivities to infestation by this borers.
In Iraq, six species of borers attack date palm trees causes damages
These insect pests are : ( Fig.1) 1. Phonapate frontales, Frond
borer
2. Jebusaea hammerschmiditi Reich., Long horn stem(trunk) borer
And four belong to genus Oryctes 3. Oryctes elegans Prell, Fruit
stalk( Bunch) borer
4. Oryctes agamemnon Burmeister, Root borer
5. Oryctes agamemnon arabicus Fairmaire, Arabian rhinoceros beetle
6. Oryctes agamemnon matthiesseni Reitter
Dr. Mohd. Zaidan Khalaf Dr. Ayad Ahmed Al-Taweel [email protected]
Figure 1 . Palm Borers attack Date Palm Trees
The adults
Frond Damage Column 1: Frond borer, P. frontales
Column 2 : Palm Stem( Long horn) Borer, J. hammerschmiditi
Column 3 : O. agamemnon matthiesseni Reiter
Column 4 : O. agamemnon Burmeisteri
Column 5 : O.elegans Prell
Column 6 : O. agamemnon arabicus Fairmaire
1- FROND BORER
Species : Phonapate frontales Fahr.
Family : Bostrychidae Order : Coleoptera Infestation and Damages
The date palm frond borers recorded in different countries like Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Tunis, Algeria, Sultanate of Oman, in addition to other countries interested in date palm implantation . This insect pests infest in addition to palm trees, pomegranate and grapes trees . The larvae and adult appeared to be the main stages that causes damages to date palm trees as a result of feeding on the green fronds specially in middle of Iraq, larvae usually fed inside tunnels resulted in excretion sticky material in the entrance holes.
The infestation with this pest resulted in either frond break or gradually drying, this infestation usually continue in dry frond
made it unsuitable for preparing roof for farmhouse or to be used for preliminary industry. The infestation with this pest resulted in transferring the frond from inside to material like power, also this pests are capable to borrow inside fruit stalks resulted in its dryness itself and the fruit became unsuitable for consumption.
The main characteristic for infestation with this pest is the appearance of sticky points and holes for moving the adult to inside and outside ( Fig. 2) . Again our preliminary results showed differences between palm date trees in its sensitivity to infestation with this pest is needed.
Life Cycle and Distribution
The mature adult of date palm fronds is an beetle medium in size, dark brown to black in body color, its body is almost rectangular in shape, the first thorax segment cover the head. The anterior upper part from the first thorax segment is with teeth while the posterior upper part is smooth and brilliant.
Moreover, the lower surface of the abdomen is pale in color and cover by piles. The larvae of date palm frond has creamy color and without legs and its more or less take a C-shape and lived as the adults inside tunnel in the frond ( Fig. 2 )
Bunch damage
Figure 2 . Fronds Borer, Phonapate frontales
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and sometime it interact with borer belong to genus Oryctes and the dominance in the end to one of them. The main damage of this borer is its larval ability to burrow at the basis of the fronds at the top of the date palm trees, the main character of finding the infestation with this borer is running brown sticky materials from the holes made by this borer at different region of the trunk.
During our survey in some area of Iraq, we recorded 265 holes in one meter length of an date palm tree ( Fig. 3B ).
Adult Description
The adult female is 27.36 mm in length, while the male is 21-24 mm, both has compound eyes,
2- LONG HORN STEM (TRUNK) BORER
Species: Jebusaea hammerschmiditi Reich.
Family : Cerambycidae Order : Coleoptera Infestation and Damages
This type of borer recorded in Arabian Saudi Kingdom, UAE, Kuwait and Iraq, the adults is elongated brawny reddish in color, its length not more than 4 cm . it appear to infest the oldest date palm trees, age in the variety of date palm trees respond differently to the infestation . In Iraq the dispersal of this insect pest is different from area to area
Larvae
Pupa
Adult
Adult
Holes made by palm stem borer on trunk
Holes made by palm stem borer on trunk
Pupa
and it become reddish-brown ( Fig. 3A).
Life Cycle
The insect pest pass winter as larvae inside the trunk of the date palm trees ( hypernation), when the temperature is increased within spring the larvae made a hole at the end of the tunnel and it will metamorphose to pupae, the duration of pupal stage takes about three week, then the emerged adult find its way out by making round hole ( Fig.3B). The mature adults mostly noticed in early May, mating occur and then
Damages caused by palm stem borer
Figure 3B. The Damages and symptom of Infestation that caused by Long Horn Palm Stem ( Trunk) Borer.
females laid their eggs singly at the base of fronds which hatch within two weeks to larvae, starting to borrow in the trunk of the trees.
The duration of larval stage take about three months.
3- BORERS BELONG TO GENUS ORYCTES
3 - 1 : Fruit Stalk Borer, Oryctes elagans Prell 3 – 2 : Root Borer, Oryctes agamemnon Burmeister
3 – 3 : Arabian Rhinoceros Beetle, Oryctes agamemnon arabicus Fairmaire
3 – 4 : Oryctes agamemnon matthiesseni Reitter
Subfamily : Dynastinae Family : Scarabaedae Order : Coleoptera Infestation and Damages Caused by Beetles belong to Genus Oryctes
Borers belong to Genus Oryctes infest date palm trees in most region of Arabian area and neighboring countries. The adults usually made tunnels through trunk( stem),green fronds and even stalk of the fruit. As a results of wind the trunk & fronds are always broken specially if more than one adult attack date palm tree. Usually adults attack date palm trees within April, recently noticed that larvae and adults could transfer fungal and bacterial disease to the trees resulted in death. The larvae always found either inside trunk or under the base of the fronds or even in the upper end of the trees. The presence of several numbers of larvae in one place of the trunk for feeding causes a large hole inside the trunk ( Fig. 4A, 4B, 4C) and could resulted in breaking of such trunk ( Stem). The larvae prefer the wet part of date palm tree and young trees which still beside its mother, moreover, it is usually find in dead and dried trunk. Again the investigation showed that the variety of date palm trees differ in their sensitivity to this type of borer. The density of these type of borer is differ depend upon the location and our preliminary study showed that as we more to the middle of Iraq in the direction of south, the six species of borer are found especially in Basrah ( Fig.5).
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Figure 4A . The Damages caused by Borer Belong to Oryctes Genus in Iraq
Figure 4C. :Broken Trunk of Date Palm Trees a Result of Heavy Infestation with Borer Belonged
to Oryctes Genus in Iraq.