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lesser date moth
Signs of Infestation
Presence of small, dry, brown fruits tied together or to the floral stalks with silky webbing.
Fruit drop beneath infested trees, with emptied contents.
Holes near the calyx of infested fruits.
Emptied fruits with larval waste visible inside.
Silky webbing at the apex of infested fruits, with holes near the calyx.
Sources of Spread and Transmission.
Direct transmission through the flight of adult insects from one place to another.
Presence of resting larvae and pupae in residues of the previous date harvest, such as old fruit stalks, old floral spathes, and old fallen dates lodged in fronds axils and on the ground.
Prevention and Control Mechanism
Regular inspection of palms and monitoring the early appearance of infestation to ensure more effective control.
Proper pruning and frond-base removal, and removal of residues of the previous date harvest, including old fruit stalks, old floral spathes, and old fallen dates lodged in leaf axils and on the ground, with the safe disposal of all such residues along with any resting larvae and pupae after harvest.
Dusting the palm crown, around the sites of floral spathe emergence, branches bases, and frond bases with agricultural sulfur.
Shaking date bunches during the “tahdir” operation (thinning of date bunches), an important agricultural practice that improves both yield and quality, and also helps eliminate fruits infested with the lesser date moth.
Using behavioral control methods by placing light traps and sticky traps to monitor and eliminate adult insects from the beginning of the season.
Removing offshoots around mother palms, since excess offshoots lead to accumulation of fallen fruits and hinder their collection.
Collecting dates found in leaf axils and those fallen on the ground, and destroying them.
Maintaining good agricultural practices such as balanced fertilization, adequate irrigation, proper hoeing, and weed removal.
Bagging floral stalks with paper bags shaped like an open-bottomed cone to prevent butterflies from laying eggs.
Spraying entomopathogens such as Beauveria fungus and Bacillus thuringiensis compounds.
Releasing Trichogramma parasitoids against eggs and Bracon parasitoids against larvae when eggs and larvae of the insect are detected.