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Jennie Rhodes / Eugenio Cabezas
Almuñécar
Thursday, 20 February 2025, 19:14
The Junta de Andalucía is to hold a meeting with farmers in Almuñécar on Granada province's Costa Tropical on Monday 25 February to inform them about the Ambrosia beetle affecting avocados. The meeting will take place on 25 February at 5.30pm at the town's Casa de la Cultura.
Although there are no known cases in Almuñécar, the beetle is already affecting crops in Motril. Almuñécar's councillor for agriculture, Carlos Ferrón, has said that "it is very important to control the pest". He went on to say that "although no avocado trees in Almuñécar or La Herradura have been affected, farmers must have all the information on how to combat it so that they are prepared".
The talk will be given by agriculture experts from the Junta de Andalucía who are monitoring the situation closely in the region. Its presence was detected for the first time in three farms in Motril in 2023, which led the Junta de Andalucía's department for agriculture to officially declare the presence of this small insect and the fungus associated with it as a pest.
The regional agricultural spokesperson, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, announced on Wednesday 12 February that the Andalusian government is finalising the procedures prior to the publication of the order that will regulate compensation for the destruction of avocado crops affected by the beetle.
During his speech at the Junta de Andalucía in Seville, Fernández-Pacheco stated that the regional government is working to ensure that "the procedure established for the application and granting of compensation is carried out as quickly as possible", as the presence of the ambrosia beetle is an issue that "occupies and worries" the regional government.
The spokesperson explained this activity is an example of the "constant and coordinated work that has been carried out in Andalucía from the outset". Fernández-Pacheco explained that in December 2023, after the first suspicion of the presence of the beetle in three ornamental trees in Motril, the Junta installed a total of 25 traps.
The Junta de Andalucia is continuing to monitor the region by means of new traps installed in December and January in Granada province and in municipalities in Malaga and Huelva provinces.
Phytosanitary measures to be applied at agricultural holdings affected by the ambrosia beetle include sampling to detect its presence. They must also carry out phytosanitary treatments with authorised products and other control measures, prune trees or shrubs completely or partially and immediately destroy plant remains of affected trees and shrubs. In view of the presence of the pest, limitations are also established for sharing vehicles, means of transport, boxes and containers of other elements of the agricultural activity; and the correct disinfection of tools, equipment and materials used is required.
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