The Red Weevil (Rynchophorus ferrugineus) is a curculionido (beetle) and the Paysandisia archon is a lepidopter (butterfly). Both pests are the main scourge of the Ilicitano Palm, attacking a great variety of palm trees such as Date Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, Canary Palm or Chamaerops humilis among others. The larvae of these two insects sweep the soft tissues of the palm trees and feed on them, creating a microclimate inside the palm at around 20-25 ºC so that extreme environmental conditions such as cold do not affect them at all .
The red weevil has one generation every 3-4 months so that there can be up to 4 generations a year. The paysandisia archon can have an annual or biannual generation, depending on the setting is done in spring, appearing as an adult the following spring, or, if the laying is done at the end of summer or autumn, the caterpillar does not complete its development before winter , so you need another year to appear as an adult (butterfly).
The attacks of the red weevil focus on the entire length of the trunk (for all varieties of palm trees); in the case of date palms, he also has a predilection for the daughters and in the Canary palm trees for the central eye, where the palms are born. Attacks of the archon paysandisia center on the trunk, the daughters and behind the cascabotes of the palms.
There are a series of phytosanitary products legally authorized to fumigate these two pests, although it is true that each year they are less available to the farmer or the entrepreneur. One of the insecticides most used by the farmer and of great efficiency but that has been discontinued was the CLORPIRIFOS and since December 2017 it is no longer available in the market.
The insecticides IMIDACLOPRID 20% and TIAMETOXAM 25% have lost their registration in Palmáceas on September 19, 2018 and as of that date it has not been possible to buy for this use. However, there has been a grace period of 3 months, until December 19, 2018 during which you could continue using the one you have purchased and writing down in the log books. From that date its use is already prohibited.
There is a substitute for Imidacloprid on the market, to call it somehow, which is 20% Acetamiprid (see the list of authorized products to spray palm trees on the following lines). It is an insecticide that may have a lower efficacy than Imidacloprid but can be used perfectly to combat red weevil and paysandisia.
We show below the main insecticides that are used to combat red weevil and paysandisia. It should be borne in mind that as of December 19, 2018, as has happened with CLORPIRIFOS in December 2017, both IMIDACLOPRID 20% and TIAMETOXAM 25% disappear definitively for use in palms. We will name these products for their active material. The commercial name is very variable and depends on the house from which it comes. It is advisable to mix with the insecticide a "wetting", or even better, a "wetting + pH regulator", whose function is to increase the adhesion of the insecticide in the plant, improving its effectiveness. The doses will be referred for a tank of 1000 liters of water and for a backpack of 15 liters of water. In both cases the sequence will be: water + insecticide + wetting, or water + insecticide + wetting + pH regulator.
active matter : IMIDACLOPRID 20% ; dose : 1 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 15 cc / backpack 15 Ltr; mode of action : systemic insecticide. It also acts by contact and ingestion. It can be applied by spraying, drip irrigation or directly to the soil in the area where the roots act; scope of action : it is effective for red weevil but does nothing to paysandisia; wetting dose and pH regulator : in both cases 0.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 7.5 cc / backpack 15 Ltr.
active matter : TIAMETOXAM 25% ; dose : 400 gr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 6 gr / backpack 15 Ltr; mode of action : systemic insecticide. It also acts by contact and ingestion. It can be applied by spraying, drip irrigation or directly to the soil in the area where the roots act. It can also be applied as endotherapy by injections to the trunk with pressurized bottles; scope of action : it is effective for red weevil and paysandisia; wetting dose and pH regulator : in both cases 0.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 7.5 cc / backpack 15 Ltr.
active matter : FOSMET 50% WP ; dose : 2 Kg / tank 1000 Ltr, or 30 gr / backpack 15 Ltr; mode of action: insecticide that acts by contact and ingestion. It is applied by spraying; scope of action : it is effective for red weevil and paysandisia; wetting dose and pH regulator : in both cases 0.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 7.5 cc / backpack 15 Ltr.
active matter : ACETAMIPRID 20% ; dose : 500 gr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 8 gr / backpack 15 Ltr; mode of action : systemic insecticide. It also acts by contact and ingestion. It can be applied by spraying, drip irrigation or directly to the soil in the area where the roots act; scope of action : it is effective for red weevil but does nothing to paysandisia; wetting dose and pH regulator : in both cases 0.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 7.5 cc / backpack 15 Ltr.
There are other products of excellent quality on the market but they are not self-controlled to combat red weevil and paysandisia. They can be bought and used to fumigate with total guarantee. What happens is that, because they are not authorized, they cannot be recorded in the log books. These products are Dimethoate , which is effective only in paysandisia and Methyl Chlorpyrifos , which is the substitute for the old Chlorpyrifos and is effective in both paysandisia and red weevil.
active matter : 40% DIMETOATE ; dose : 1.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 22 cc / backpack 15 Ltr; mode of action : insecticide that acts by contact and ingestion. It is applied by spraying; scope of action : it is effective for paysandisia and little effective for red weevil; wetting dose and pH regulator : in both cases 0.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 7.5 cc / backpack 15 Ltr.
active matter : METHYL CHLORPIRIFOS ; dose : 3-4 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 50 cc / backpack 15 Ltr; mode of action : insecticide that acts by contact and ingestion. It is applied by spraying; scope of action : it is effective for paysandisia and red weevil; wetting dose and pH regulator : in both cases 0.5 Ltr / tank 1000 Ltr, or 7.5 cc / backpack 15 Ltr.
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