International conference on integrated protection of date palm launched

Manama, Mar. 13 (BNA): President of the Arabian Gulf University (AGU) Dr. Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al-Ohali underlined the importance of the integrated protection of date palms in the modern era due to the risks and threats facing the world on account of several factors, including the economic and climate changes. Addressing a large gathering on the opening day of the International Conference on Integrated Protection of Date Palm, Dr Al-Ohali revealed that date palms form an integral part of the GCC states’ economy, stating that the planet Earth has 100 million palm trees, 75% of which are located in the Arab World with the Arabian Gulf region alone accommodating 40% of the world’s date palm plantation. Furthermore, Dr Al-Ohali uncovered that the Gulf states are producing 40% of the total global production of the dates before pointing to the many health benefits of this fruit, which has become a future source for the production of biofuels. Hosted in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the event is organised by the International Organisation for Biological and Integrated Control (IOBC-WPRS) in co-operation with AGU, the National Initiative for the Agricultural Development, and is witnessing a large participation from international and Arab persons. Holding this prestigious function is a result of co-operation from many international and national parties, with the strategic partners of the event including Tamkeen, the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP. It is also supported by Gulf Petrochemical company GPIC. HE Dr Al-Ohali, who is the Patron of the Conference, noted the role of the dates as a major source in the food security system, as they are rich in minerals and hold sufficient daily calories for a person. "Dates and dairy offer complete nutritional benefits, therefore they are a source of sustainability and food security for our region. They can be the main defence line for famine-stricken areas because of their benefits," Dr. Al-Ohali said. "In the area of globalisation, there is an active traffic of exports and imports, as a result of which there is an increasing inflow of migratory of pests through goods moving around the world. The Arabian Gulf region is a vibrant place, importing a large number of goods, making it vulnerable to receiving pests threatening the agricultural sector in general and date palm trees in particular. For this reason, holding this Conference is very important to tackle this issue," Dr. Al-Ohali added. It’s worth noting that the two-day event aims to reach the latest modern scientific methods for integrated protection of date palms, and will address topics such as the types of date palm pests and different methods of pest control for palms using farming and bio-chemical techniques. In addition, integrated management strategies for pest control will be discussed, and alternatives to chemical pesticides, such as methyl bromide, as well as biotechnology and its applications in the field of pest control, and the advantage of remote sensing techniques to identify and monitor areas of date palm pests spreading. Moreover, the conference will include a selected group of speakers. The opening address will be delivered by Dr David Hogg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States of America, and Dr. Abdul Rahman Farajallah from Batterjee Medical College (BMC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The scientific sessions will be opened by the PhD papers of Dr. Jose Valerio from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO, and Dr. Luis Lopez of Kantian University in Spain, along with Dr. Mohamed Basari from the Mohammed V University in Morocco. Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Conference and Chairman of the Department of Life Sciences at AGU, Dr. Abdulaziz Mohammed Abdulkarim revealed earlier that this Conference would involve 70 participants from outside Bahrain, stating that the event will also present 56 scientific papers submitted by participants from the GCC, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Pakistan, in addition to India, Spain, the United States of America. For his part, Dr. Farajallah underscored the importance of protecting date palm trees, stating that they represent a cultural and social heritage for the Arab World. Meanwhile, a research team of AGU presented its efforts in finding ways to fight the insect, red palm weevil, by employing remote sensing technology to monitor the spread of the red palm weevil insect and determine the palm infected areas. It’s worth citing that AGU is preparing other studies pertaining to the relationship between microscopic organisms coexisting within the red weevil insect, in order to limit its effectiveness, through discerning the bacteria that helps to digest complex sugars from palm dates, which form the weevil’s primary diet.