Worldwide situatio of Red pal Weevil: risk for LA Countries and rationale for pest control

Since the very early record of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) as palm pest, the weevil has been spreading westward to USA (California) from its tropical area of origin, roughly corresponding to the Malayan province. During its dispersion RPW shifted two times on new host plant, to be specific Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and Canary Palm (Phoenix canariensis Hort. Ex Chabaud). IPM relevant changes in bionomics of the weevil occurred accordingly to the new host plant as studies in hundreds infested palms demonstrate in Southern continental Italy Sicily, Spain, Malta, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. In these countries investigated plants mostly belong to Canary Palm while Date and Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis L.) also underwent infestation. The recent introduction of RPW in the Caribbean area poses a serious risk in the area both on economic and wild palm species. Moreover it seems possible to predict a further invasion of the weevil, soon into the Latin America Countries. Looking at RPW control experience in the Old Wold it seems reasonable that we need two different I PM approaches for economic or ornamental Palm . Key-point analysis in the weevil action are: host plant morphology and density; RPW microorganic symbiosis; mite symbionts; infestation length of time and lethality; RPW egg laying behaviour; symptoms; pest population density; economic action threshold. The study of tentative RPW life-table in palm orchards and urban area stress the need for artificial mortality factors as able to lower the pest population as dispersion-related mortality does in nature. Researches on cultivated palms carried out in the Mediterranean suggest the integration among tree injection, trap plants, host plant disruption and biocontrol by entomopathogenic fungi for the role of dispersion-related natural mortality. Our knowledge based on RPW key-point analysis and life-table study therefore suggests an IPM strategy pivoting on Protection and Prevention (2P) from RPW by chemical, biological and biotechnical means of control.