A Quarantine protocol against the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) in date palm

Abstract: The red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), (Coleptera: Curculiondae) is a key pest of date palm in the Middle East where date palm is mainly propagated through offshoots, which often harbor RPW larvae, resulting in the spread of the pest and also its re-inoculation in areas where RPW is already controlled. Currently there are no quarantine protocols to ensure that date palm offshoots which are transported for planting are free of RPW larvae. In this study, date palm offshoots were sprayed while still attached to the mother palm and also dipped separately for six hours a week after detachment from the mother palm with Fipronil 3.5% (ThripGuard 35 SC) and Imidacloprid 35% (Confidor 350 SC). Fipronil and Imidacloprid were tested at 0.008 % and 0.01%, respectively. Results revealed that dipping gave complete mortality of the larvae and was better than spraying which resulted in partial mortality of the larvae .Further, toxicity studies resulted in complete mortality of larvae and adults exposed to offshoot tissue that was dipped in Fipronil at the above concentration. Further trials are planned to reduce the time of dipping as well as the lethal concentration.