Canary Islands Seeks EU Waiver for Organic Vineyards to Use EPIK
The Canary Islands' Minister of Agriculture is seeking special EU permission for organic vineyards to use the insecticide EPIK against phylloxera without losing certification, and has also established two scientific committees to investigate the pest.
EPIK is an insecticide used to fight the phylloxera pest in vineyards. Naturally, organic wine producers cannot use this product. However, Narvay Quintero, the Canary Islands' Minister of Agriculture, announced that the regional government is asking the European Union for special permission. This would allow organic vineyards to use the EPIK treatment without losing their organic certification. He shared this news on Tuesday, November 4, during a distribution of the treatment in the Tacoronte-Acentejo wine region.
The proposal is currently being prepared and will soon be sent to Brussels, seeking this special approval. Quintero believes the EU will 'logically' grant the request. He explained, 'We don't want organic winegrowers to have their production stopped.'
He also mentioned two scientific committees set up to investigate the pest. 'Their first two meetings have already been scheduled,' he announced. One committee will study how phylloxera behaves to help maintain vineyard productivity, while the other will investigate where the pest came from. He explained that this second group of experts will look into questions like: 'How long has it been on the Islands? Is the situation similar to 150 years ago? Has the aphid evolved since then? Why is it found on the leaves but not the roots?'