Startup harnesses AI tech to combat palm weevil infestation

Startup harnesses AI tech to combat palm weevil infestation

AMMAN — When Zeid Sinokrot started a project to cultivate date palms with his family in Jericho, a Palestinian city in the West Bank, they were faced by an impossible challenge after the dreaded palm weevil swarmed the farm. 

The venture Sinokrot, who’s an industrial engineer, undertook, allowed him to learn first-hand about a serious issue that is threatening the sustainability of palm cultivation worldwide. 

The red palm weevil is widely considered to be one of the most invasive agricultural pests in the palm sector, which is a fundamental contributor to the national economy of many countries in the region and worldwide, including Jordan.