SummaryThe Cretan date palm, Phoenix theophrasti, is a less susceptible and suitable host for the red palm weevil compared to the Canary palm, P. canariensis, even at high pest pressure. Nevertheless, P. theophrasti is not invulnerable to the red palm weevil, hence under continuous and high pest pressure young off shoots/palms can be deadly infested. The slow development of the insect in the Cretan date palm should probably allow a larger 'window of time' for an eff ective plant protection management against the pest.Additional keywords: Cretan palm, pest density, suitability, susceptibility that a gummy secretion observed in infested palms indicates the existence of antibiosis in this species. Kontodimas et al. (2006) reported that development of R. ferrugineus adults and their emergence was possible at P. theophrasti seedlings after exposure to 6 females/palm (simultaneous presence of 6 males) in laboratory conditions 26 o C and 16:8 L:D. The current study aimed at assessing the susceptibility of young plants (corresponding to young off shoots) of P. theophrasti to the red palm weevil in response to diff erent population densities in semi-fi eld conditions (compared to the susceptible P. canariensis), and their suitability for the development of adult weevils.
Materials and methodsThe trials were carried out in semi-fi eld conditions (glasshouse) at Benaki Phytopathological Institute (BPI), Kifi ssia, Greece. Eight screened metal mesh cages (3 x 1.5 x 2.3 m) were used for diff erent treatments. Assays were performed on 3 years-old potted plants of P. theophrasti and P. canariensis (the stipe was approx. 15-20 cm high and 15-20 cm wide). Phoenix canariensis palms were used as a control susceptible species to the red palm weevil. Five palm trees of each
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