The lesser date moth, Batrachedra amydraula Merck is one of the most important pests affect date palm fruits, which cause great losses to the yield, whether in quantity or quality. This study was conducted in Basra province / Al-Qurna district to study the effect of harmal plant seeds on the numerical density, percentage and severity of infection caused by lesser date moth on the date palm trees. The results showed that the highest number of lesser date moths’ population density was appeared in the fogging treatment (111.3 / trap), while the lowest was in the fumigation treatment (64.3 / trap). The lowest percentage of infection by lesser date moth was in the aqueous extract treatment of (29.7%), while the highest was in the fumigation treatment (31.4%). In the first period, the treatment of aqueous extract gave the best results, as the percentage of infection was (17.8%). The lowest rate of infection severity was also in the treatment of aqueous extract (2.2 / 5 fruit), while the highest was in the fogging treatment (6.5 / 5 fruit). In the third period, both treatments of fumigation and fogging gave the best results, as the infection severity was (0/5 fruit) compared to the control for the same period of (8.9 / 5 fruit). The treatment of aqueous extract gave the best results in reducing the severity of infection by lesser date moth, while the treatment of fogging gave the best results in reducing the number density of lesser date moth.

Date palm borers become a serious threat to date palm plantations in Iraq, which required management program to suppress their population by using different methods; one of them is the light traps which disseminated in Basrah province. The objective of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of light traps as a part of pest management tool. In three years monitoring of coleopteran adults, rhinoceros beetles Oryctes spp. and longhorn date palm borer Jebusaea hammerschmidtii infesting the date palm Phoenix dactylifera were reported by using light traps in different regions of Basrah, Iraq. Due to the result of the abundance of the borers, Oryctes spp. were the most dominant and most important causing severe damage for the date palm. Four species of Oryctes (O. agamemnon, O. elegans, O. sahariensis and O. sinaicus) were recorded in Basrah date palm orchards; the seasonal activity of the species was between April and May, reaching the peaks during summer, and the populations decreased gradually till December. The overall sex ratios of all species of Oryctes spp. were male-biased except O. elegans, which had the sex ratio of 1.13 female: 1 male. Results revealed that the light traps exhibit an effective control method to suppress the adult borer’s population and as a physical control and monitoring tool of date palm stem borers.