The distribution pattern of the Coleopteran store pests in the important date growing areas of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Maryam Jalili Moghadam ¹
• Jamasb Nozari ¹
• Masoud Latifian ²
• Seyed Pezhman Shirmardi ³
• Seyed Mohammadali Ebrahimzadeh Mosavi ⁴

¹ Department of Plant Protection Faculty of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

² Professor, Temperate Fruits Research Center, Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran..

³ Department of nuclear engineering, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Tehran, Iran

⁴ Department of Faculty of Food scince and Engineering &TechnologyCollege of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Keywords

• Coleoptera
• biological distribution
• population establishment
• habitat niche
• Date palm

Extended Abstract

Introduction

Dates are a major crop in a large portion of Africa and Eurasia. Dates in storage are at risk from a series of pests, including beetles—132 species of date palm-related pests have been reported worldwide. The species are divided into eight orders and 30 families. The important families of Coleoptera reported from date stores include Anobidae, Cucujiidae, Dermestidae, Mycetophagidae, Nitidulidae, and Tenebrionidae. So far, no detailed study has been done regarding the geographical distribution, establishment ability, and biological capacity of stores in important date-producing provinces for the beetle population of date-store pests. Monitoring warehouse pests is a standard approach in integrated pest management because it can help increase the efficiency of control operations. However, this presents a substantial challenge. The spatial distribution potential of insects is complex and dynamic, varying across geographical locations. This research was carried out to identify the coleopteran fauna in the date stores of the date-producing provinces of Iran, the geographical distribution of the potential of their establishment, and the exploitation of their ecological nests in the biome of the country's date stores.

Materials and methods

This research was conducted in important date-growing areas of Iran, including Kerman, Fars, Khuzestan, Sistan, Balochistan, Bushehr, and Hormozgan, in 2023. Randomly selected 15 date stores from each province were sampled as follows. The sampling of date fruit was carried out by Iranian National Standard No. 2944. For this purpose, a sample of 3 kg, including ten 300-gram samples, was randomly taken from the mass of stored dates. Valid identification keys were used to identify different species. In this research, we conducted a simultaneous study of demographic indicators to analyze the relative abundance rate of establishment, preference index, relative probability of occurrence, usable habitat, niche, and the amount of unexploited habitat niche for various beetle species in six provinces of Iran. We used important dates to separate the provinces based on these demographic indicators for each of the date storage pests. The cluster analysis method was employed to group the provinces that showed similar levels of infection to each of the storage pests based on specific Euclidean distances. To evaluate the correctness of the clustering of the studied provinces, linear discriminant analysis, normal discriminant analysis, discriminant function analysis, and Fisher's linear discriminant generalization were used.

Results and discussion

In date-growing areas of Iran, seven species of beetles including Oryzaephilus surinaemensis, Oryzaephilus mercator, Tribolium castaneum, Tribolium confusum, Carpophilus hemipterus, Carpophilus mutilates, and Togoderma ganarium were identified. The ecological needs of seven beetle species identified in this research are diverse. The highest relative establishment rate observed was related to O. surinaemensis in the Kerman, Fars, and Bushehr provinces. According to the results, the highest incidence density was related to the species C. mutilatus in Hormozgan province. Suppose we want to have a correct estimate of the probability of relative occurrence in terms of the population size of any hardy species. In that case, we use the density relative probability of occurrence (or occurrence density). The highest exploitable habitat niche was in date stores of Hormozgan and Khuzestan provinces for O. surinaemensis beetle. The most unexploited habitat niche is in Khuzestan and Bushehr provinces and is related to beetle species. It was T. ganarium. The higher the index of the unexploited habitat niche, the greater the chance of unexpectedly seeing that tough bird in stores in that province.

Conclusion

To assess the impacts of global changes on horticultural ecosystems, it is crucial to predict the distribution of all pests, both native and non-native. Plant protection agencies use pest risk analysis to determine the risks from native and non-native pests that must be justified through phytosanitary control measures. This evaluation is based on the principle that ecological, economic, and social change effectively reduces costs and increases incomes, and, as a result, impacts the future of that product's business. The future profitability of that crop can be evaluated by evaluating the net economic effect of a change in the composition of the store pest population. The results of this research have determined the actual and potential beetle distribution of the date storage pest in the important date-growing areas of Iran.