Regional government declares plague of black-headed worms in several provinces of Andalucía

The Junta de Andalucía regional government has officially declared a plague of black-headed worms (Capnodis tenebrionis), in almond plantations located in the provinces of Almeria and Granada and has ruled that measures must be taken to control it.

Among the measures that farm owners will have to adopt are to carry out "exhaustive and periodic" checks; to communicate to the regional government if there are suspicions of the existence of the pest and to maximise cleaning measures of harvesting machinery and transport and storage equipment, according to a resolution published on Tuesday 23 September in the Official Bulletin of the Andalusian regional government (BOJA) consulted by Europa Press.

The bollworm has increased "considerably" in Almeria and Granada provinces due to factors such as the drought in recent years, the ban on using active substances that were effective in controlling adult almond trees and the abandonment of plantations.

Law 43/2002 provides that the competent authority in the region may declare the existence of a pest when it causes or is likely to cause economic damage or damage of such intensity, extent or nature that compulsory control is necessary as the most effective means of combating it or when the control measures require application in continuous areas or when the pest constitutes a possible source of dispersal.