Revived and Revised Palm Weevil Study Underway

A Palm Weevil study by the University of California Riverside (UCR) is back on track in the Ranch after the original grant for the study with the Department of Pesticide Regulation fell through. The new grant partners, California Department of Food and Agriculture, have approved an updated study nearly identical to its predecessor, but simplified per new study findings from UCR.

The study will be implemented from 2023 to 2025 and still include twelve half-mile radius study plots, however the number of pheromone traps are cut down by more than half. Research has uncovered that the "Attract and Kill" pheromone stays active longer in the trap and has a wider range of coverage than originally estimated. Anchored pitfall traps have been installed in each study plot in the public right-of-way, but obscured by vegetation. They will be replaced with pheromone traps by March 2024. Palm mortality will be tracked over the course of the 2-year study using FireWatch mapping and AI analysis of palm deaths and removals. 

For more information on the background of the study, visit the RSF Association's Integrated Pest Management page.