2008 PRT News
New Security Helps Save Date Crop in Central Iraq
PRT Ag Expert Advises Government of Iraq on Date Spraying Campaign
By Gene Arnold
Special Correspondent
June 19, 2008
During the past two years the insurgency interfered with an important agriculture related pest control function here in Diyala Province. The pest is the Dubas Bug or the Date Palm Leafhopper. The Dubas Bug has seasonal breeding cycles that disrupt the cultivation of dates. Females lay their eggs in the palm fronds where they lay dormant for several months. When they hatch they begin feeding by boring into palm fronds to get at the sap. After feeding the Dubas Bug leaves the bore but the bore continues to “bleed” the sap or honeydew onto the fronds. The honeydew hardens and a sooty mold grows on it. This mold build up can cause the tree to literally suffocate and die. The mold also falls from the fronds onto the fruit making it unfit for consumption. Without effective controls the Dubas Bugs can destroy an entire crop of dates and over time they can kill off entire groves. The groves were sorely in need of spraying this year. According to Dr. Greg Brooke, PRT Diyala Agriculture Specialist, “May 2008 was only the second time in the past six years that Diyala’s date orchards were aerially sprayed for pest control.”
The most effective form of control is an aerial application of pesticide spray when about 50% of the eggs have hatched. This delivery of the pesticide is usually accomplished by helicopter or small airplane. During 2007 violence in the Province made aerial spraying an impossibility and in 2006 it was limited to a few areas. The risk to the pilots was too high. Low flying aircraft were vulnerable to insurgents armed with rocket propelled grenades and small arms. Application of the pesticide by hand held sprayers is possible but difficult and time consuming. Most orchards have citrus trees planted between the much taller date palms making it impossible to use equipment such as cherry pickers or bucket trucks. Hand application requires the sprayer to climb the bole of the 80 to 100 foot tall palm trees with a small sprayer and to fog the fronds. A good climber can only spray between 12 and 15 trees in a day. The process is not efficient for the larger groves although smaller producers still rely on it. As the spraying has to be done during a specific window in the Dubas Bug life cycle that means that many trees have gone without spraying for the past two years. Aerial spraying this year was long overdue; it has only occurred twice in the past six years.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Plant Protection General Office has worked closely with the Diyala Provincial Government and Coalition Forces to formulate this year’s date spraying campaign. Spraying the date palm groves of Diyala began 25 May with the various elements of Iraqi Government in the lead. Coalition Forces provided a modest level of assistance due to the continuing security concerns. For the southern portion of the operation the MI-2 helicopters used in the spraying were based at FOB Gabe which houses both Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces. Coalition forces also supplied fuel for the Iraqi helicopters. Despite weather delays and some mechanical failures that were quickly resolved by the Iraqi Government, spraying was completed around Baqubah during the last week of May. The groves in the North, in the vicinity of Muqdadiyah, were sprayed from FOB Normandy during the first days of June. The Plant Protection General Office reports that 33,340 donums (8238 acres) of land were sprayed aerially and achieved an 80% efficacy rate against the Dubas Bug larvae. Hand spraying was conducted as a supplement on 18958 donums (4685 acres) and achieved a 75% efficacy rate.
This is a significant accomplishment that will have long lasting impact on the date industry in Iraq. Dates are an integral part of the life and culture of Iraq and most other countries of the Middle East. During the 1970’s Iraq was the world leader in date production. Iraq lost that distinction under the regime of Saddam Hussein, but the date farmers of Diyala would like to reclaim it. This round of spraying has been successful and will contribute to the health and longevity of the date palm groves and that is essential for the health of the industry. There are other benefits according to Dr. Booke who said, “Perhaps of equal importance is that the success of the aerial spray campaign demonstrates to everyone that security in Diyala Province is back under control which will have untold benefits throughout the Province.”