Feeding Potential of Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus on Different Date Palm, Phoenix Dactylifera Varieties Under Field Conditions

Abstract

The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera is one of the main cash crops of Sindh particularly of upper Sindh, district Khairpur. It is main source of nutrients such as; carbohydrates, vitamins etc. It is cultivated on 100,000 acres only in district Khairpur with total production of 293,000 tons, this production is much less as compared to other countries main cause of this low yield is the attack of date palm weevil. About, 3 species of insect pests have been recorded in Pakistan. The feeding behavior of RPW on three verities of date palm, Aseel, Fasly and Karbalian showed that Aseel was most susceptible, weekly observation showed that the given stem piece of Aseel was completely eaten from inside by RPW, while the stem piece of two other varieties partially damaged. Present study revealed that (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) weevils fed voraciously on Aseel in comparison to two other varieties those have eaten 7.58 mean % of given stem of Aseel while 6.54 of Fasly and 7.06 of Karbalian. Thus, the present study indicated that feeding behavior takes an important role towards control strategy due to lack knowledge of feeding behavior it is imperative to manage this pest.