Oman Wires It's all about Oman
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF) has deployed helicopters for aerial spraying of pesticides to combat the spread of Dubas bug. The bug is stated to be accountable for 30 per cent of the losses that date palm farmers incur in the nation.
The programme will cover about 20,000 feddans (about 19,268 acres) of the impacted places which have been identified based on the infection levels by field surveys.
The programme aims to spray palm trees in the different northern governorates of the sultanate utilizing two helicopters.
Technical teams have begun to evaluate the efficiency of spraying in some villages in the wilayat of Samail.
The ministry has been operating more than the years to verify spread of Dubas bug which causes harm not only to date palm trees but nearby plants as nicely.
The ministry with the aid of The Research Council (TRC) is also operating on biological manage of Dubas bug.
The council requested analysis proposals aimed at controlling the pest and awarded grant to UK insect ecologist James Harwood in 2015.
Information Source: Muscat Daily
