palm trees

Aigerim Nurbayeva

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Model Predictive Control robotics agricultural robotics coral reefs palm trees 3D reconstruction Robotics manipulators

Using sensor technology to tackle red palm weevils

2 min read · Thu, Mar 14 2019

red palm weevil palm trees coconut palms

The red palm weevil ( Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is a snout beetle insect originating from tropical Asia. Over the last few decades, it has spread to a large part of the Middle East, North Africa, and virtually the entire Mediterranean region. Weevil larvae, the insects at their stage of development from an egg to before their adult form, are the cause of severe and widespread damage to certain palm tree species. The weevil larvae spend their entire four-month life cycle within the palm tree's trunk, hollowing it out from the inside until the tree dies. They are considered the most destructive