Comprehensive Analysis of Management Strategies for Red Palm Weevil in Date Palm Settings, Emphasizing Sensor-Based Infestation Detection
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The authors tried to examine the RPW infestation in preventive and sensor-based management plantations and urban area and examine the relationship between the curative treatments with respect to the damage index and between curative treatments and the damage index information and the effect of sensor-based management on the decline of RPW infestation incidence over time.
There are 3 major issues.
1. The authors must provide the information of the sensors and environment in the plantations.
2. The plantations and location should match.
3. Too many reports are in the citations.
The minor issues are in the file.
Thanks,
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Reviewer 1
Reviewer 1 indicated: "There are 3 major issues"
- "The authors must provide the information of the sensors and environment in the plantations"
Our reply: We have addressed the reviewer's concerns separately for the sensor and the habitats.
Regarding the Sensor: The Reviewer's assertion lacks clarity concerning the sensors. Our study focuses on a specific type of sensor, and a related manuscript authored by some of us was published a few months ago, providing detailed information about the sensor, with appropriate citations in the current article. Furthermore, this article extensively describes the sensor's mode of operation.
Concerning the Plantation Environment: The reviewer's intention regarding the plantation environment remains unclear. The climate conditions in the date plantations where we collected our data are remarkably consistent and suitable for cultivating commercial date palms. We acknowledge the temperature differences between agricultural and urban settings in our discussion, but it's essential to note that variations extend beyond just humidity and temperature. Our introduction and discussion highlight a range of variables distinguishing the two habitats, making a comparison solely based on climate conditions not align with the comprehensive picture we aim to present.
- "The plantations and location should match"
Our reply; the appropriate changes were made in the text and the figures legends, please see below.
- "Too many reports are in the citations"
The reviewer has raised concern about the abundance of reports in our citations. We acknowledge that some of the reports we cite are not traditional articles but rather valuable information produced by commercial and governmental entities in Israel. It's crucial to clarify that these reports do not belong to the authors of the article but are accessible through the respective frameworks that published them. We consider this information to be important and vital for the readers of our article, particularly those who may encounter difficulties in obtaining the original reports. Unfortunately, comparable information from other regions is often inaccessible and is not cited in similar studies. Presenting this information in our article establishes a useful precedent, offering readers valuable insights that may otherwise be challenging to obtain.
Suggestion on the manuscript shit by Reviewer 1
Page 2 marked lines 60-68 'is this information needed in your study"
Our reply: In our opinion, this information is interesting and necessary because it indicates to the reader the background of the establishment of the weevil, emphasizing that this is an invasion of a serious pest for the first time in the agricultural and urban date palm systems, discussed in the article
Page 5 "you must provide a locations"
Our reply: the location are now provided (in details)
Page 7 "the Fig. is hard to recognize, I suppose table is better"
Our reply: We think that a graphic illustration gives the reader a clearer picture of the differences between the two types of growing areas and between settings with a sensor-based management and settings without sensors.
Page 8 Figure 3 legend "is this the same as the location in Table 1."
Our reply: Please see the detailed explanation as footnote in Table 1. We added to the figure legend the following - (For more details about the plantations, please see Table 1)
Page 9 line 329 "is this the same as the location in Table 1."
Our reply: the detailed explanation as footnote in Table 1 answers the question; as the reader is already suggested to get details from the table.
Page 10 Figure 5 legend "The fig. is hard to recognize, you should describe X and Y axes in the figure"
Our reply: titles were added to the axes as requested.
Page 14 line 608 "Phoenix dactylifera" highlighted
Our reply: the regular fonts were replaced by italics
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The study analyzed two datasets: field manager-reported results from settings with preventive pest control versus seismic sensor-monitored units.Sensor data translates into damage index values, exploring curative treatments, attack likelihood based on infestation history, and the impact of sensor based management on infestation incidence decline.the resulted showed the decision to control weevils based on sensor indications aligns practically with the grower's curative treatments, effectively preventing significant damage to the palms. There are a few comments below that I think the authors should address prior to publication.
1. The full text of the two environmental treatments should be consistent. fruit plantations vs ornamental trees, or plantations vs urban area.
2. Fig 1 should show the locations of each settings.
3. what is curative treatments, it used for sensor managed treatment or preventive managed treatment or both?
4. There are 43 settings in total, why select A-K settings to analyse, these settings belong to plantations or urban area.
5. In 3.2, why did the results indicate a noteworthy relationship between the number of curative treatments and 'infested' damage index information. Is there any quantitative relationships?
Author Response
Reviewer 2
1) "The full text of the two environmental treatments should be consistent. fruit plantations vs ornamental trees, or plantations vs urban area"
Our reply: the text was changed to "plantations vs urban" see lines 160 and 370.
- "Fig 1 should show the locations of each settings"
Our reply: We assigned numbers (1-43) to the examined settings and specified their locations in Israel, as shown in Fig. 1 [Setting locations: Arava Valley 1-6, 12, 13, 18, 25; Bet Shean Valley 7, 8, 25-27; Jordan Valley 9, 10, 23, 30; Dead Sea area 11, 16, 17, 21; Sea of Galilee area 20, 28; Central Coastal Plain 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 41, 43]. Fig. 2 illustrates the locations of these examined settings corresponding to their assigned numbers in Fig. 1. We have incorporated this explanation into each of the relevant figures.
- "what is curative treatments, it used for sensor managed treatment or preventive managed treatment or both?"
Our reply: The curative treatment, as outlined in the introduction of the article, involves implementing pest control measures on trees identified as being infested by the weevil. This can be achieved either through sensor-based interventions or visual monitoring in cases where sensors are not utilized.
- 'There are 43 settings in total, why select A-K settings to analyse, these settings belong to plantations or urban area."
Our reply: Some of the A-K settings are among the 43 settings used to illustrate the infestation intensity in both plantations and urban areas in Israel. However, the A-K settings underwent comprehensive examination specifically to investigate the role of seismic sensors in the management practices implemented.
- "In 3.2, why did the results indicate a noteworthy relationship between the number of curative treatments and 'infested' damage index information. Is there any quantitative relationships?"
Our reply: The correlation between the frequency of curative treatments and the 'infested' damage index information was rigorously examined through statistical analysis. The results strongly indicate a significant alignment between the data derived from the sensor and the pest control measures implemented by the growers. This underscores the importance of aligning management practices with sensor-based information.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
I suppose the authors updated the manuscript as my comments.
Thanks,
Author Response
We extend our gratitude for your comments and recognition.
