Abu Dhabi treats more than two million palm trees to combat harmful insects

Advanced pest management programme utilises light and pheromone traps to protect farms and minimise pesticide use

The red palm weevil is one of the pests causing harm to Abu Dhabi's palm trees. Reuters

More than 2 million palm trees in Abu Dhabi have been treated for infestation by pests such as the red palm weevil and stem borer since the beginning of the year.

Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) carried out the work using pheromone and light traps to attract and control pests and limit their spread, state news agency Wam reported. The programme involves treating palms infested with various pests, such as the red palm weevil and stem borer, and removing severely damaged trees.

“ADAFSA implements an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme for palm trees, focusing on environmentally safe techniques to minimise pest impact and reduce indiscriminate use of pesticides,” Wam reported.

“ADAFSA has treated over 2 million palm trees, since the beginning of this year, as part of the fight against blight and dust mites under the IPM programme, which has contributed to controlling agricultural pests and reducing pesticide use.

“Specialist teams successfully eradicated thousands of harmful insects, such as the red palm weevil and stem borer, contributing to crop protection and increased productivity.”

There are currently more than 125,000 pheromone traps and more than 21,000 light traps installed across farms in Abu Dhabi. These traps attract pests in an environmentally safe manner, reducing the need for chemical pesticides Wam reported.

In the first half of 2024 alone, these traps attracted nearly half a million pests, including the red palm weevil and stem and frond borers – key threats to palm trees.

The red palm weevil is an insect known to be a significant threat to the region’s vital date palm trees and infestations have caused farmers to suffer financial losses. The treatment of the trees is part of a wider strategy aimed at protecting palm farms from pests and diseases, improving production quality, and encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices.

In addition to the pest control efforts, ADAFSA has launched a series of educational programmes for farmers.