The Tuta absoluta pest is wreaking havoc again in Majorca, especially in the Sineu road area. The Tuta has been present on the island since 2008, but its impact has worsened since last summer mainly due to two factors: its resistance to pesticides and climate change, which has brought mild temperatures in winter that do not kill the moth.

Jaume Pocoví, from Unió de Pagesos, says that many of the tomato plantations in greenhouses have been lost and that the situation could get worse ahead of summer. “The situation is especially worrying in greenhouse plantations, where the production cycle is not broken, since the insect has great reproductive potential,” he says.

One of the recommendations made by the Unió de Pagesos and the General Directorate of Agriculture is that, once the production cycle is over, the producers should uproot the tomato plants and not wait for them to dry before eliminating the plants. “Once the production cycle is over, the plants should be burned or buried to prevent the proliferation of the moth,” says Andreu Joan, head of the Council’s Department of Agriculture.

Last December, Joan participated in an international meeting where various strategies against tomato pests and diseases were analyzed, since the Tuta affects a good part of the Mediterranean area and has become one of the main threats for this type of crop.

Tomatoes are one of the most important horticultural crops in the Balearic Islands, with ​​366 hectares and a production volume totalling over 8,700 tons, according to the Government.

Source: ultimahora.es