DAMMAM: The Ministry of Agriculture is conducting a research project to combat the red palm weevil. Discovered in Al-Qateef governorate, the weevil has been described by experts as a severe threat to palm trees. The ministry said the project involves conducting experiments and research on a number of insects and parasites to combat the weevils, which bore tunnels through palm trunks as they eat and eventually kill the trees. There is coordination with the Ministry of Interior and security agencies at the regional level to implement the quarantine, which bans the transport of palm seedlings, through operating checkpoints on major roads, officials said. Saad Al-Muqbil, director general of the General Administration for Agricultural Affairs in the Eastern Province, said the research project to find insects and parasites capable of combating the weevil is part of a national plan to be launched throughout the Kingdom. Some citizens and farmers are responsible for spreading the dangerous weevil by not following the quarantine regulations, which have been effective, he said. Some people have transported afflicted seedlings to unaffected regions, he said, and data shows that the percentage of affliction dropped to 1.05 percent in 2009, compared to 4.16 percent in 1994, out of 654,066 palms. The most-harmed regions are those with palms between 5 and 15 years of age, he added. The Ministry of Agriculture has engaged its full capabilities, brought in experts and prepared integrated teams to combat the weevil, at no cost to farmers, Al-Muqbil said. The Agricultural Plants Administration is supervising the program in different regions of the Kingdom, he added. The organization is a link between regions through the exchange of visits; holding training courses, seminars, symposia and workshops; conducting experiments; sharing and emphasizing the results of research; and following up the work to fight the weevil, Al-Muqbil said. The Ministry of Agriculture is collecting the latest information and recording the data through monthly reports it receives from each region and issuing directives and decisions, he added. Al-Muqbil pointed out that officials are providing safety tools and means of protection including gas masks and protective clothing to safeguard those who are working in the field.
