ANBAR JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the egg parasitoids Trichogramma evanescens and Trichogramma principium for the control of lesser date moth (LDM) Batrachedra amydraula Meyr. on Zahdi cultivar in Al-Saqlawyia region/Al- Anbar Province during 2009 and 2010 seasons. The two parasitoids were released at rates of one, two and three capsules, each capsule contained about 100 parasitoid pupae within the egg of the secondary host. the parasitoids were released twice during the season; the first release was made after the completion of pollination practice and the second two weeks later. During the two seasons of the study, the infestation levels by the LDM varied depending on environmental conditions. However, the infestation was relatively low during 2010 season. All release rates of the two parasitoids were effective in reducing the infestation by this pest on date fruit during both hababook and chemri stages. The highest control efficiency was 70.8% obtained for the parasitoid T. evanescens when used at the rate of three capsules per tree. Results also showed that the highest fruits number and bunch weight were obtained for this treatment too, while the lowest number of fruits per strands and bunch weight were obtained for the untreated trees. Therefore the use of this egg parasitoid as a biological means for the control of LDM could be considered as one of the integrated management options to protect date fruits and thus increase date production in the country, while at the same time insuring environmental and human health safety.