A new phase has started in a project to decrease the percentage of date palms infected by red palm weevils.
The Nakheelna Initiative is aimed at reducing the infection rate to 1.5 per cent of trees by the end of 2017, the ministry said.
The ministry hopes that the programme will help boost date production, improve food security and diversify the UAE’s income, said Sultan bin Alwan Al Habsi, an assistant undersecretary at the ministry. The latest phase will involve upgrading tools and other equipment, as well as maintaining pheromone and lighting traps used to gather the insects.
Red palm weevils, a type of beetle, can infest and eventually kill the plants that are their hosts.
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