Evaluation of Specific Pheromone Trap Designs and Components to Improve Their Effectiveness in Reducing the Red Palm Weevil Population in Egyptian Palm Farms

Abstract

Due to the extreme danger of the red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Dryophthoridae) on date palms and its rapid spread in many countries in the world. This work was carried out to evaluate the effect of using different pheromones, baits and trap shapes on the attraction of the RPW adults by pheromone traps in date palm plantations. Results revealed that the traps contained Rhyncho gel pheromone recorded the highest average of captured RPW 20.17 adults/ trap compared to the three other tested pheromones, Rhyno cap, English and Costa Rican which recorded, 17.44, 12.94 and 7.44 adults/ trap respectively. Also, the traps contained dates as a food bait attracted the highest average of RPW adult 55.47 adults/ trap compared to the other four tested baits, Pineapple, Sugar beet, sugar cane and palm pollen grains that collected 27.56, 25.25, 11.83 and 10.39 adults/ trap respectively. In addition, trap shape No. three achieved the highest average of attracted RPW adults 16.81 adults/ trap followed by the trap shape No. two, 13.81 adults/ trap without significant differences between them, while the trap shape No. one collected the least insects number, 10.22 adults/ trap with a significant difference with the other two forms. It is clear from the results that we recommend the use of the third-shaped trap containing Rhyncho gel pheromone and dates as a food bait, as each of these three treatments has achieved the highest efficiency of attracting RPW adults in date palm farms to reduce their population.