Red Palm Sixty Libyan trainees are participated in a session on Monday, to diagnose Red Palm mites and learn controlling methods. The seminar was organised by the National Centre for Prevention and Quarantine section of the Ministry of Agriculture. It included several lectures which focused on the importance of Palm trees to Libya, upon which a high percentage of the population depend.
The Chairman of the management committee of the National Centre, claimed Libya has eight million palm trees. According to the Chairman, this fortune is seriously threatened by a new pest which arrived via unorganised and ignorant import practises.
The Palms grow between the coastal area and the south of Libya. Libyans are concerned about this tree as it is a source of living and has many traditional industries based on it.
Red Mites are indigenous to Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Mauritius, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Réunion, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. It is considered an invasive species in Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, Granada, Haiti and Jamaica.