مكافحة حشرات التمور و منتجاتها باستعمال الأشعة المؤينة

Abstract EN

Arab countries produce more than 73% of the total world production of date palm and dates constitute an important part of the people's diet.

They are produced at a certain time of the year and stored to be consumed all year around.

Similar to most other agricultural crops, dates are attacked during storage by a number of insect pests causing sever losses.

Methyl bromide, a chemical fumigant highly effective in controlling insect pests of stored dates, has been used for over half a century to protect stored food products, including dates, against insect attack.

Because of its environmental drawbacks, methyl bromide is being phased out globally with no other chemical to replace it at present.

Ionizing radiation, particularly gamma radiation, may offer a good alternative to methyl bromide for protecting food products including stored dates, against insect attack.

In this paper, we present details on insect pests of stored dates, their sensitivity to gamma irradiation and the possibility of using gamma irradiation as an alternative to methyl bromide for their control.

It also discusses the criteria used for determining the irradiation dose.

In addition, it deals with the advantages, legality, practicality and the difficulties that hamper the practical application of this technology.