Tenerife battles phylloxera: authorities allocate €150,000 to strengthen control.
The Tenerife government allocates 150,000 euros and brings in additional specialists to combat phylloxera, detected in the island's vineyards, in order to prevent the spread of the disease and protect the harvest.
Wine producers in Tenerife are currently in a difficult situation. At the end of July, phylloxera was found in Valle de Guerra – a disease that, while not spoiling the wine, can destroy grapevines. Therefore, the authorities decided to act quickly.
The local authorities (Cabildo de Tenerife) and the Government of the Canary Islands are allocating 150,000 euros to strengthen control measures. To this end, 8 new specialists will be hired.
This was announced on September 3 at a meeting in Tacoronte, which was attended by more than 150 winegrowers from the local wine association. Representatives of the Cabildo, Lope Afonso and Valentin Gonzalez, explained what they plan to do.
These 8 new specialists will work together with 22 other agricultural specialists and 9 Cabildo employees. Together, they will monitor the vineyards during the harvest.
Valentin Gonzalez explained: "It is harvest season now, so we need as many people as possible to inspect the vineyards and compile reports. This is necessary so that winemakers do not suffer significant losses."
To date, more than 1,600 vineyards across the island have already been inspected.
Lope Afonso assured that the situation is under control: "The disease has not yet spread, phylloxera has only affected 50 plants."
He also added that the authorities will do everything possible to prevent the disease from spreading: "We will work together with the Government of the Canary Islands to keep the situation under control."
Afonso praised the winegrowers and said that they are "our eyes in the fields of Tenerife."
In order to better coordinate actions, the Island Wine Council was urgently convened on September 8.
Afonso and Gonzalez explained that at the meeting they will inform the winemakers about the disease situation and discuss how to combat it. It is important that everyone works together to protect the vineyards.
What is phylloxera? It is a small insect, similar to an aphid, that eats the roots of grapevines, and sometimes the leaves. It originates from North America and once destroyed many vineyards in Europe. Then it was necessary to replant the vines, using resistant varieties.
Tenerife has local grape varieties that are not resistant to phylloxera, so it is important to detect the disease as early as possible and control it. Phylloxera does not spoil the wine, but it can destroy the grapevine and jeopardize future harvests.