Galicia's Council for Rural Affairs has adopted emergency measures after detecting the presence of a pest called Tecia solanivora Povolny (Scrobipalpopsis solanivora Povolny), known as Guatemalan Couza, which causes damage to potatoes. They said it has been detected in the municipalities of Ferrol, Neda and Narón, where the regional government has enforced urgent phytosanitary measures to try to control and eradicate its presence.
Producers explain that the Guatemalan Couza is a moth that lays its eggs in potatoes; the larvae then feed from the tuber, which consequently becomes damaged. To eliminate the insect, the regional government has established a series of measures to be enforced by producers and marketers. It is forcing the former to set up pheromone traps for mass trapping; to use certified seeds with a health guarantee; that is, not reusing leftovers from the summer season; to make use of phytosanitary treatments with active substances permitted in the official register; and to remove and destroy all damaged tubers in order to eradicate the pest during the rest period.
For their part, marketers must separate the tubers for seed from those intended for consumption; to set up meshes on top of stored tubers to prevent the entry and exit of the Couza, and to disinfect warehouses, handling machinery and tools with approved products. The shipment of the potatoes from these areas outside of the three municipalities has also been prohibited.
Unións Agrarias stressed that the regional government has adopted these measures to prevent a crisis like that caused by the Asian hornet. "In these areas, production is mainly domestic, unlike other areas of Galicia, which have large producers, so it does not affect the sale," said the technician of the Union, Ángel Alvariño, who is also the mayor of one of the affected municipalities, Neda, where the pest was first detected. He stressed that the vast majority of producers are already using certified plants, even though producers have complained about the measures not being enforced earlier.
Sources from the Council explained that the pest has a considerable economic impact in Central America, where it originated, and in countries of South America. In Europe, they say, the insect was first found and identified in the Canary Islands.
Source: lavozdegalicia.es
