The Fig Wax Scale (Ceroplastes rusci, L.) in Palestine

Extract

The cultivation of the fig tree in Palestine has not yet attained any great or highly valuable proportions, though there are many thousands of these trees scattered over the cultivatable portions of the country, all of which yield a certain amount of annual profit. In some parts a few, small, regularly-planted collections of trees exist which can, with dignity, be termed plantations.

The fig tree in this country is of hardy growth and seldom receives much attention beyond a yearly ploughing of its surrounding soil and the removal of the crop. It is, perhaps, because of its resistance to the rigours of heat, cold and dryness which are experienced in the gamut of the country's climates, and its ability to flourish and bear a crop of profitable fruit with a minimum of expenditure on upkeep, that it is so popular with the agricultural inhabitants of Palestine.

The fruit of this tree is either sold fresh or else marketed locally after a process of sun-drying, which forms a profitable industry in the hill districts and is quite capable of considerable expansion. Some eleven species of figs are grown in Palestine, four of which are excellent for drying.

The pests of this tree are not numerous and include the fig wax scale (Ceroplastes rusci, L.), the Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata, Wied.), and a recently discovered Psyllid, which is confined to a comparatively small area. Of these the fig wax scale is by far the most important.