Red palm weevil spreads across Iraq's Diyala

Shafaq News- Diyala

The red palm weevil has spread to date palm orchards across Iraq's Diyala province, except for Mandali, the provincial Agriculture Directorate said on Thursday, warning that shortages of pest-control supplies were hampering efforts to contain the infestation.

Directorate spokesperson Mohammed Al-Mandalawi told Shafaq News that infestations were particularly widespread in orchards around Al-Muqdadiyah, Al-Khalis and Baqubah.

He said prevention and treatment campaigns had covered approximately 10,000 palm trees since the beginning of 2026, but the pest's rapid spread was putting increasing pressure on control teams.

Al-Mandalawi added that teams were operating with limited resources and urgently needed vehicles and protective equipment to reach affected orchards and continue treatment campaigns.

He called on provincial authorities to provide additional support to contain the infestation and protect Diyala's date palms.

The red palm weevil has spread to more than seven Iraqi provinces, threatening the country's date palm sector. The pest was first detected in Iraq in 2019 in the Safwan area of Basra province.