A Mexican cochineal plague has been seriously affecting the prickly pear trees of Guatiza and Mala for months, as confirmed by both the Teguise City Council and the Tourist Centers. And, in the Cactus Garden they are "quite worried" because the plague may affect their facilities.
"The appearance is devastating," said a citizen these days, who warned of the "danger that the Cactus Garden and the island's agriculture are in" due to this plague. "It is very widespread and dries the leaves very quickly," he pointed out, expressing the need for an "urgent intervention."
From the Tourist Centers, its CEO has confirmed on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero that the Cactus Garden has not been affected by the moment: However, he has acknowledged that they are "quite worried." "We are maintaining the Garden and for now we have no problems, but it can arrive because it is surrounded", said Benjamín Perdomo. "You can be an oasis for a while but, obviously, that plague, with a little wind coming... That's like the grape and the vine, if there is ash and it flies", it is very difficult not to touch you. You have to be continuously treating it", he added.
That is precisely what is being done in the Cactus Garden, according to Perdomo, who highlighted that the gardeners are doing "an extraordinary job" "We have been dealing with the Government of the Canary Islands for months to fix products," he said.
However, he considers that "it is a serious problem" and that "it is up to the Teguise City Council" to act in the environment. "We are the Cactus Garden and we are already working with the Government of the Canary Islands and I know that they are analyzing the exteriors, but within their municipality they will have to worry about the prickly pear trees," he added.
Teguise affirms that the Government of the Canary Islands is already acting
"We are not prepared. The one who is prepared for this is the Ministry of the Government of the Canary Islands and they are already coming to treat this plague", said the Councilor for Agriculture of the Teguise City Council, Gerardo Rodríguez.
As he explained, it was "five or six months" ago when the City Council learned that a Mexican cochineal plague "was acting and devastating the area" through the cochineal cooperative of Guatiza and Mala, which was the one that detected it. "There is a teacher from the IES of Teguise who is collaborating with us through the greenhouse and on a farm where he is working, they detected that plague. Then they contacted us and we contacted the parliamentarians of the island," the mayor detailed, stating that through them "the Ministry was asked to act." "The Cabildo also pushed for the Government of the Canary Islands to come," he added.
Specifically, according to him, technicians from the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of the Canary Islands "have already come to the island twice", the last time "two weeks ago" to treat the plague. "And the City Council is collaborating, providing the water so that they can apply everything," he indicated. "They still have to come a third time. They are seeing how what they are doing is going, if it is giving results," concluded the Councilor for Agriculture of the Teguise City Council.
