Tracking Red Palm Mite Damage in the Western Hemisphere Invasion with Landsat Remote Sensing Data

Abstract

Red palm mites (Raoiella indica Hirst, Acari: Tenuipalpidae) were first observed in the western hemisphere on the islands and countries surrounding the Caribbean Sea, infesting the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.). Detection of invasive pests usually relies upon changes in vegetation properties as result of the pest activity. These changes may be visible in time series of satellite data records, such as Landsat satellites, which have been available with a 16-day repeat cycle at a spatial resolution of 30 m since 1982. Typical red palm mite infestations result in the yellowing of the lower leaves of the palm crown; remote sensing model simulations have indicated that this feature may be better detected using the green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI). Using the Google Earth Engine programming environment, a time series of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager data was generated for plantations in northern and northeast Brazil, El Salvador, and Trinidad-Tobago. Considering the available studied plantations, there were little or no differences of GNDVI before and after the dates when red palm mites were first revealed at each location. A discussion of possible alternative approaches are discussed related to the limitations of the current satellite platforms.

A Social-Ecological Approach to Studying Variation in Urban Trees and Ecosystem Services in the National Municipal District of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

“…In the Caribbean, red palm mite (Raoiella indica Hirst, Tenuipalpidae) was first reported in that region in 2004 and has become a substantial threat to palms. This mite is an invasive species from Asia and Africa that attacks a variety of species in Arecaceae (palms) and other monocots leading to leaf chlorosis and reduced reproduction (Roda et al, 2008;Rodrigues et al, 2020). This insect has already been reported on Santo Domingo's island of Hispanola (Vázquez et al, 2008).…”

Biological Control Methods for Agricultural Mites: A Review

“…Symptoms of this infestation included white and yellow spots on the leaf surface while severe effects included premature leaflets, accelerated maturation and reduced grain yield (Dehghan et al, 2009). In 2009, the coconut industry in Brazil also suffered more than 70% losses in production due to the effects of the red palm mite (RPM) which were already dispersed in Martinique, Antilles islands and Trinidad (Rodrigues et al, 2020). Further studies on eggplant and tomato crops by Maina et al (2014) on spider mites around the Lake Chad Shore Area of Nigeria showed that farmers experienced more than 50% yield losses (Maina et al, 2014).…”