MONITORING, POPULATION DYNAMICS AND INFESTATION RATE OF RED PALM WEEVIL IN DIFFERENT LOCAL DATE PALM VARIETIES IN BAHAWALPUR

Abstract

The date palm, or Phoenix dactylifera L., is a valuable fruit crop and source of income for many nations. It is a member of the Arecaceae family of palm trees. Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) is an invasive pest that causes damage to palm trees worldwide by eating their stems inside. The objective of this study is to identify susceptible and resistant varieties among as well as identify the population dynamics of R. ferrugineus. Our results showed that most affected variety was Khurma in both age date palm e.g., five-ten old plants and in eleven-fifteen years old. While most superior least effected variety was Begum Jangi among Zhaidi, Aseel, Begum Jangi, Haleeni, and Shamran with no population. The most vulnerable date palm variety is Khurma. For both immature and mature R. ferrugineus, January through March and October through December are the ideal months to execute management measures. According to recent research, the Bahawalpur region needs to introduce resistant date palm varieties.