With the attendance of (74) experts and farmers in the Date Palm cultivation sector and representing (13) Arab countries.

Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation organized a virtual lecture, presenting “The Obstacles Facing Date Palm Farmers and Date Producers”, by Dr. Ismail Al Hosani, Agricultural Advisor, on Wednesday the 23^rd of September 2020. The lecture was attended by (74) participants, representing (13) countries, among which are members of the Date Palm Friends Society in the UAE, farmers, and Agricultural experts.

This virtual lecture held via Zoom, comes under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, President of the Award’s Board of Trustees, and within the Award’s framework and commitment to spread the scientific knowledge and awareness on the Date Palm Best Practices, and providing technical and scientific advice and support to farmers to help them improve the Dates quality. Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, the Award’s Secretary General, expressed his appreciation to the extended scientific and professional efforts done by agricultural advisors, in promoting the growth and development of the date palm cultivation and date production in the UAE.

From his side, Dr. Ismail Al Hosani, started the lecture by presenting a group of major insect infestations that lead to indisposed date palm trees and to a less production, and if neglected, it leads to losing the tree, and focusing on the most important insects that infect the date palm tree and which has a high economic impact such as the red palm weevil, the palm grove borer insect, the palm stem borer insect, and the black blight. Dr. Al Hosani, then referred to a group of infections that also causes poor fruits production such as the Humera and dust spider, while focusing on the Humera as it is one of the most important pests due to its great impact on the date palm tree in areas of its spread, as its larvae feeds on the grown dates causing a high percentage of date loss. The infected trees will be immediately identified by having dry red dates.  

Furthermore, Dr. Al Hosani presented the symptoms of the black blight infection in date palm trees, the blackening, charring and deformation of the tree, and blackening and dwarfism that appears on pollen are all indications of an infected tree. Highlighting also the seriousness of the date palm tree borer as it is one of the most dangerous pests that can attack a date palm tree, it is described as a long brown beetle that forms in a large white larva, that grows to a stage of being  curved, thick, wrinkled, and has pectoral legs, where it causes the most damage to the fronds, spines, and leads to a stage where the tree core  becomes perforated, as it digs deep tunnels that leads to the dryness and breakage of the fronds. It also results in the growth of very small dates that are with no commercial value, as it feeds on the growing dates.