 |
| Coconut mite attacks |
The Salalah Agriculture Research Station achieved a distinct achievement by reaching over a major lead to contain coconut mite, one of the most destructive pests, recorded in Salalah in 1994-95. The lead is going to be helpful in containing Aceria gurreronis (coconut mite) not only in Salalah and Dhofar, but all the places globally where production of coconut is involved on a mass scale.
This achievement was revealed and recognised during an international conference in Malaysia where a researcher from Salalah Agriculture Research Station had gone to participate. The conference titled i-ENVEX 2015 was held in Kangar Perlis, Malaysia.
Shifa Manaa Rajab Bait Suwailam, who came out with positive results on the coconut mite, bagged Gold Prize for her work and surprised everyone with her talent in the conference as also her colleagues in the Sultanate’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
In an interview with the Observer, Shifa said her study was aimed at developing a new technique of mass production for H thompsonii, a fungus that fights coconut mites.
Explaining the technical aspect of her work, Shifa said: “There were three different methods used in this experiment at Salalah Agriculture Research Station. First method involved liquid mass production, while in the second method the media was prepared in a roux bottle. The third method was a combination of two previous methods...
