The Cabildo of Lanzarote, together with the Canary Islands Institute of Agricultural Research (ICIA) and GMR Canarias, has organized the `II Symposium on the fight against Diocalandra frumenti in the Canary Islands', which was held this Thursday, April 7. These training days provided important keys to the fight against this plague that affects the palm trees of the Island and on the different methods to combat it. This second edition has registered a great success of convocation, completing its capacity with a total of 60 attendees.
The symposium was promoted by the Lanzarote company Canariensis, and also had the collaboration of the company Fertinyect, the Yaiza City Council and local media.
“Of the almost 60,000 Canary palm specimens in Lanzarote, it is estimated that half may be affected to a greater or lesser extent,” said Councilor Marcos Bergaz, at the opening of the conference, and highlighted “the usefulness of the information provided in this meeting to combat this important problem.”
Diocalandra frumenti is a small beetle, also known as picudín, which has spread throughout the island of Lanzarote, except for the Haría palm grove area. This insect intensely affects the life of palm trees, necrotizing the plant, so it is essential to use techniques to combat it, as well as guarantee adequate hydration and substrate to prevent palm trees from weakening and being attacked.
The different presentations within the symposium were given by the agricultural technical engineer and coordinator of GMR Canarias SAU, Luis Barroso; the doctor in Chemistry and professor at the University of Córdoba, Lorenzo Gómez; the agricultural engineer and researcher at the ICIA, Carina Ramos; and the doctor in Biology and researcher at the ICIA, Estrella Hernández. These specialists provided details on endotherapy, an injection treatment that is used to eliminate pests and on mass trapping tests in palm trees.
