Relationship of Date Palm Tree Density to Dubas Bug Ommatissus lybicus Infestation in Omani Orchards

Rashid H. Al Shidi, Lalit Kumar, Salim A. H. Al-Khatri, Malik M. Albahri and Mohammed S. Alaufi
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Rashid H. Al Shidi: Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Lalit Kumar: Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Salim A. H. Al-Khatri: Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, PO Box 50, PC 121 Seeb, Oman
Malik M. Albahri: Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, PO Box 50, PC 121 Seeb, Oman
Mohammed S. Alaufi: Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, PO Box 50, PC 121 Seeb, Oman

Agriculture, 2018, vol. 8, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Date palm trees, Phoenix dactylifera , are the primary crop in Oman. Most date palm cultivation is under the traditional agricultural system. The plants are usually under dense planting, which makes them prone to pest infestation. The main pest attacking date palm crops in Oman is the Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus . This study integrated modern technology, remote sensing and geographic information systems to determine the number of date palm trees in traditional agriculture locations to find the relationship between date palm tree density and O. lybicus infestation. A local maxima method for tree identification was used to determine the number of date palm trees from high spatial resolution satellite imagery captured by WorldView-3 satellite. Window scale sizes of 3, 5 and 7 m were tested and the results showed that the best window size for date palm trees number detection was 7 m, with an overall estimation accuracy 88.2%. Global regression ordinary least square (OLS) and local geographic weighted regression (GWR) were used to test the relationship between infestation intensity and tree density. The GWR model showed a good positive significant relationship between infestation and tree density in the spring season with R 2 = 0.59 and medium positive significant relationship in the autumn season with R 2 = 0.30. In contrast, the OLS model results showed a weak positive significant relationship in the spring season with R 2 = 0.02, p < 0.05 and insignificant relationship in the autumn season with R 2 = 0.01, p > 0.05. The results indicated that there was a geographic effect on the infestation of O. lybicus , which had a greater impact on infestation severity, and that the impact of tree density was higher in the spring season than in autumn season.

Keywords: Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus; date palm Phoenix dactylifera; remote sensing; multispectral image; local maxima (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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