Living in the Kingdom, I've witnessed just how much Saudis take pride in their dates, and with good reason. Saudi Arabia produces an impressive 1.5 million tons of dates annually — that's nearly 20% of the dates that are produced globally — with a total value of more than SR7.5 billion (around $2 billion). Most any Saudi is eager to share what they know about this national symbol — from identifying the different varieties, to naming the region they're from and how they're grown and harvested. More than a cash crop, these signature sweets are nutritious, delicious and at the heart of Saudi customs. Yet Saudi Arabia's date palm trees are under attack. The red palm weevil is a deadly pest that is invading the region and killing these trees. The beetles bore their way into the trunks, lays eggs, populate and devour the trees from the inside out. A loss of $9 million each year is estimated from their damage in the Kingdom, and much more across the region. If this bug isn't stopped, it could wipe out this valuable crop. Coordinated actions and solutions are needed. My favorite kind of date is Ajwa from Madinah, and though I'm hard pressed to tell the difference between a khlass and sekri, I can tell you how KAUST research is helping to save the Kingdom's dates. One innovative solution that our researchers have developed deploys a first of its kind, fiber optic, acoustic sensor to detect the presence of beetles inside the trees. Early detection is key, and the devices can pick up even the faintest feeding sounds of larvae and their activity from the onset of invasion. Machine-learning algorithms are used to analyze the signals and identify each tree's infestation status. Early mitigation is then straightforward; farmers usually inject insecticide into the infected trees to kill the larvae and beetles. Led by KAUST Professor Boon Ooi, a recognized pioneer in the fields of semiconductor photonics and optical sensors, the KAUST team is working with multiple establishments in the Kingdom, including the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), NEOM, the Royal Commission for AlUla and the Tabuk Agricultural Development Company, to install these detection technologies in large-scale agricultural sites and farms across the country. Compared to other mitigation measures, which are expensive or infeasible, this technology is cheap, reliable and easily scalable, with the ability to monitor a few thousand trees per scan. Pinpointing which trees are infected can help control the spread of beetles sooner and protect date palm groves from damage. This fiber optic, sensor approach is recognized as being an effective deterrent against the red palm weevil, with findings published in distinguished science journals, such as Scientific Reports, a Nature Portfolio publication. For this work, the KAUST team, along with their collaborators at MEWA's Date Palm Research Center, received the 2022 International Date Palm Innovative Technology Excellence Prize by the National Center for Palms and Dates (NCPD) in Riyadh, and the 2023 Khalifa International Award from the government of United Arab Emirates. I'm proud when university research translates into impactful action. I'm hopeful that, together with our in-Kingdom partners, we can save the date and safeguard this natural resource and national symbol from harm.
