Spain: A campaign is underway to eradicate the pest threatening potato crops in Menorca.
The Consell, the Government and Tragsa are offering farmers an initiative for the early detection of the beetle that can completely eliminate the potato plant.
The detection of the potato beetle in several Menorcan vegetable gardens at the end of last year has led the Island Council to launch a free campaign to eradicate this pest in collaboration with the Government and Tragsa. The initiative is aimed at owners of crops on the island who have been affected by this insect, which feeds on leaves and can completely eliminate potato plants.
The campaign, which aims to minimize the impact of this pest on the island’s potato crops and protect the local agricultural sector, consists of two phases. On the one hand, early detection of the beetle; on the other, the application of treatments to eradicate the pest in those orchards where its presence has been confirmed.
To this end, the island administration is urging farmers and landowners with potato crops to be alert and watch for the appearance of this insect. If you detect one, it is crucial to immediately contact the campaign services through two telephone numbers set up for this purpose: 971484409 and 679090888.
Between October and November of last year, technicians from the Island Council’s Agriculture Department recorded several outbreaks in the island’s vegetable gardens, both professional and urban, as well as amateur ones in the eastern parts of the island. Until then, Menorca, along with Ibiza, was one of the few areas in Spain and one of the few in the world recognized as a protected area against this common pest. Widely distributed worldwide, only one outbreak was detected on the island in 2003, but it was successfully eradicated.
Classified as a quarantine pest, requiring inspections at least once a year to rule out its presence in protected areas, the Colorado potato beetle primarily attacks potato crops, but also other crops to a greater extent, such as eggplant and, to a lesser extent, tomato. Its presence has raised concerns among the island’s farmers because it seriously affects the harvest. Furthermore, it reproduces rapidly: each female lays an average of 300 to 400 eggs that hatch within 4 to 12 days.
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