The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, reported this Wednesday, August 20, together with the Deputy Minister of the Primary Sector of the Government of the Canary Islands, Eduardo García, and the Island Councilor of the Primary Sector of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Valentín González, on the new measures for the control of the phylloxera outbreak of the vine (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) detected in Tenerife, which includes the prohibition of the movement of fresh grapes and plant material of this crop, indefinitely and in any of its forms, both between different islands and between the different wine-growing regions of Tenerife.
In addition to declaring the fight against this organism to be of public utility, this order, scheduled for publication in the coming days, includes the procedures to prevent the spread of the pathogen by establishing a delimited area of 500 meters around each of the affected plants, as well as an additional perimeter of 1 km radius in which the prospecting of all vine plants will be carried out, in line with the actions that, since the detection of the first case, have been carried out on the ground by the teams of the public company Gestión del Medio Rural (GMR Canarias) in coordination with the Plant Health Service of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Narvay Quintero stressed that "this is a dynamic document that will be updated to adapt to the evolution of this harmful organism", since the situation requires that "agile measures be adopted depending on the daily monitoring that is being carried out." "In addition, collaboration between administrations is essential, so we are in permanent contact with the Cabildo of Tenerife, as well as through meetings with the island heads of agriculture and all the Regulatory Councils of the Protected Designations of Origin of wines, both from Tenerife and from all the archipelago, to act jointly in the face of a situation that we can only successfully face if we act in a coordinated manner."
In this sense, Quintero highlighted the telematic meeting held first thing in the morning with the Director General of Health of Agri-Food Production of the Ministry of Agriculture, Emilio García, and with the Secretary General of Agricultural Resources and Food Security, Ana Rodríguez. In it, protection measures were requested in line with the new regional regulations, such as the prohibition of importing grapes for winemaking to the Canary Islands from areas affected by phylloxera. Likewise, extraordinary financial support was requested to cover the costs of prospecting, destruction and treatment work, as well as the increase in personnel and equipment at the Archipelago's Border Inspection Points, and the reinforcement of inspections and controls.
The island councilor, Valentín González, stressed that since the detection of the first case, work has been carried out "with maximum transparency, consensus with the entire sector and collaboration from all administrations and Regulatory Councils." He also highlighted the "technical rigor" of the order scheduled for publication in the coming days, which will be "mandatory for all winegrowers", both for those who belong to a DO and for the rest of the producers.
During the harvest campaign of this year, "the transfer of fresh grapes from Tenerife to any other island is prohibited under any circumstances." The movement of grapes between islands is also prohibited, as well as between these and Tenerife; although in these two cases, and exceptionally, the Ministry may authorize it, always under strict sanitary control conditions and after obtaining the movement guide and technical report issued by the competent authority.
In this way, the movement of vine plant material (Vitis spp.) in any of its forms (plants, cuttings, shoots, cuttings, patterns) between the different islands of the Archipelago and between the different areas of the same island, as well as utensils, equipment, machinery, boxes, etc. and vineyard soil is prohibited indefinitely. The movement of grapes between different geographical areas of different Designations of Origin of Tenerife is also prohibited and will be subject to the authorization of the Ministry, after the issuance of the movement guide by the competent authority. In addition, the order establishes, among other measures, that the application of eradication and control treatments will be mandatory in the demarcated areas, as well as the communication to the plant health services in case of detecting symptoms or presence of this organism.
In addition to the application of appropriate phytosanitary treatments, a weed control mesh must be placed, as well as the 'in situ' destruction of the infested plant material, which, if the owner decides to carry out by their own means, must be supervised by an official of the General Directorate of Agriculture. Likewise, the planting of new vines is prohibited for a minimum period of 12 months in the infected areas.
Surveys carried out
To date, a total of 697 surveys have been carried out with a result of 667 plants free of this organism compared to 30 in which its presence has been detected, most of them on abandoned land. Only two affected plants were found on a farm in production.
At the moment there are three delimited areas of action in the municipalities of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tacoronte and La Matanza, although analyses have also been carried out in Tegueste, El Sauzal, La Victoria and Santa Úrsula in which no presence of phylloxera has been detected.
During the last weeks, the prospecting work has been intensified especially in Valle de Guerra (La Laguna) and Tacoronte where all the vine crops will be prospected because, until now, it is the area where most of the positive cases have been located.
Of the thirty positive locations detected, four have been eliminated, applying also a phytosanitary treatment in the soil; eleven are currently being treated, and fifteen remain pending action, which will be carried out in the coming days
Grape phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is a harmful organism that causes damage to the leaves of vines by forming galls caused by the bites of this insect that are visible on the underside of the leaves and that correspond to chlorotic lesions visible on the upper side.
It can also affect the roots, where it produces nodules and tubers linked to these bites that, if they reach the main root, will cause the host plant to wither and finally die between two and five years after the infestation. Although in the cases of Tenerife its presence has not been detected in that part of the plants.
Until the detection of the first case at the end of July, the Canary Islands was free of Daktulosphaira vitifoliae. This status was maintained thanks to the validity of the Order of March 12, 1987, which establishes for the Canary archipelago the phytosanitary regulations relating to the import, export and transit of plants and plant products, and which prohibits the import of vine plant material (Vitis L.) except fruits and seeds, originating from all countries, including peninsular Spain.
