The Effect of Wild Boars on Agricultural Crops and Their Control in Salfit Governorate in Palestine

The spread of wild boars in Palestine has increased and became a serious problem affecting agriculture sector. The animals has characterized to adapting the environment, which is full of fruit trees and forest. Wild boars have a high birth rate, which enable them to multiply quickly producing large number of offsprings. A study was conducted in Salfit governorate to examine the influence of wild boars on agricultural crops, as these animals have been considered the most serious pest that threatens agriculture in this area. The study includes several areas that represent the most fertile agricultural areas in Salfit governorate. The data was collected from target areas, using questionnaire, and interviews with farmers in those areas. The results indicated that the rates of damages were much greater in olive trees, vegetable crops, and field crops in the villages of Salfit, which approached 46%, 45% and 44%, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum rate of damage in fruit trees, stone fruits and shrubs was in the city of Salfit, which achieved 36%. Studying the prevalence of wild boars throughout the year showed that the highest prevalence was in June, reaching 19.5% and the lowest was in January by 2.4%. The study showed that the most successful and applicable methods of control were the use of poisons and fences, where the percentages of using such methods were 51% and 39.5% for poisons and fences, respectively, while as using traps was much lower than other methods and their use did not exceed 4%.