Abstract
Rodent damage assayed in date palm and orange trees in different locations at El- Wady El- Gadid Governorate (El-Kharga, El-Dakhla, Gharb El-Mawhob and El–Farafra) as new reclaimed lands. In addition, two control methods were studied i.e. chemical control (zinc phosphide and diphacinone anticoagulant bait) and mechanical control (Aluminum sheet rolled around the trees, clean around the trees by rake, the weeds around the trees were removed, demolition of rat burrows by axe and muslin covered the date). Results showed the damage percentages were 37.06 % in El- Kharga, 45.63 % in El-Dakhla, 0.57% in Gharb El-Mawhob and 4.75% in El- Farafra for date palm. While the damage percentages in sweet orange were 28.16% in El-Kharga, 44.08% in El-Dakhla, 4.78% in Gharb El-Mawhob and 9.14% in El-Farafra. In case of bitter oranges damage percentage were 18.61, 28.28, 4.12 and 4.15 % in El-Kharga, El-Dakhla, Gharb El-Mawhob and El–Farafra, respectively. The results of chemical control showed that diphacinone bait was more effective than zinc phosphide. Whereas, zinc phosphide gave 72.43%, while diphacinone achived 89.26 % population reduction of rats in date palm. Concerning orange trees, it was 69.30 and 86.79 % population reduction of rats. Regarding the mechanical methods, the damage percent in date palm declined to zero percentage after using aluminum sheets around palm stem, clean around the palm, remove the weeds and demolition of rat burrows in date palm. While, in case of using the muslin cover, percentage the damage not decreased in date palm. The average damage percentage after using the chemical and mechanical control on date palm in El- Dakhla were 1.39, 1.80 and 0.00 % by zinc phosphide, diphacinone and aluminum sheets, respectively. In conclusion, mechanical control of rats on palm was better than the chemical methods to protect the environment from the impact of rodenticides especially in new reclaimed land.
Highlights
New Valley Governorate rarely used rodenticides so pesticides used to reduce the high incidence of rodents followed by traditional mechanical methods neglected by farmers, which leaded heavy loss of crops and trees
Results showed that the average damage percentage caused by Rattus rattus on date palm were very high in EL-Dakhla, the percentage was 37.06%
The lowest damage percentage was in Garb El-mwhob in date palm
Summary
New Valley Governorate rarely used rodenticides so pesticides used to reduce the high incidence of rodents followed by traditional mechanical methods neglected by farmers, which leaded heavy loss of crops and trees. Dates are important commodities and non-traditional crops that can be use for both local consumption and export. This is due to the dates characterized by their. The dates are the first economic crop in the New Valley so it is necessary to control pests harmful to palms. (Metwally, et al, 2011) recorded that use of some mechanical and chemical control methods to control rodent species in some field crops and date palm trees in experimental farm of Al- Azhar University in Assuit. - Use of aluminum sheet and muslin cover to control rodents as mechanical control
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