MAFWR employs biological control to combat fruit tree pests

MAFWR employs biological control to combat fruit tree pests

Muscat – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR) has launched a programme to combat pomegranate moth in the 2022 season.

The programme employs biological control methods by using parasitic wasps of the genus Trichogramma to combat fruit tree pests in Jabal Akhdar.

The project, funded by the Agricultural and Fisheries Development Fund, started in May and will continue until September.

Pomegranate moths threaten pomegranate, apple and walnut crops.

The programme will see production of up to 220mn Trichogramma parasitic wasps in 2022 to fight fruit tree pests.

MAFWR released more than 265mn Trichogramma parasitic wasps in the last two years, which resulted in the protection of 94 per cent fruit crops in the 2020 season and 95 per cent in 2021. The biological pest control project contributed to protecting the environment, reducing the use of pesticides, and maintaining ecological balance for the cultivation of pomegranate trees.

The ministry cooperates with farmers and the Pomegranate Association to release Trichogramma parasitic wasps on farms to combat the pests, besides using environmentally friendly pesticides, to maintain environmental diversity in Jabal Akhdar.

Trichogramma is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. Trichogramma is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with