ECOPALM RING MACHINE: THE MICROWAVES TECHNOLOGY FOR THE TOTAL DISINFESTATIONS OF THE PALM TREES AFFECTED BY THE RED PALM WEEVIL

The red palm weevil represents a serious threat for many countries where millions of dates and coconut palms are cultivated. Millions of palms around the world are ruthlessly attacked and damaged by the Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, causing great economic loss to the growers. All the efforts to control this pest have not yielded the desired results. Most of the methods currently applied and recommended by experts for the preventive and curative palms treatments are mainly based on pesticides and phytosanitary products use. The infestations control, using these products in urban environment and farms, is becoming more difficult due to the limitations imposed by legislation on use of plant protection products, which are polluting and harmful to health. Therefore, the necessity and the needs to seek more efficient and ecological alternative methods to address this serious emergency led our company, specialised for more than 20 years in high technology microwaves applications, to develop the patented Ecopalm Ring machine, based on the ecological microwave technology for the total disinfestations of the palms affected by the red palm weevil. Using the Ecopalm method has led to promising results in the fight against the red palm weevil by eradicating all the individuals hosted in the infested trunk, in whatever stage of their development they are found. The microwaves destroy selectively the eggs, larvae, pupae and adults, breaking and interrupting their life cycle completely, without causing any collateral damage to the palm treated, which is then saved. The Ecopalm method is very effective if used for preventive treatment of healthy palms, curative treatment of infected palms, and decontamination treatment of palms beyond recovery. An important aspect is the pure ecological method implemented, totally alternative to all methods known so far. No pesticides are used, no pollution is produced, and no harmful residues are left.