From Mr L. Camilleri

All those local councils that are, ultimately, responsible for palm trees in their area – those in public parks, public gardens, roundabouts and open fields – as well as residents who have palm trees in their private gardens, which are to some minute or huge degree affected by the red palm weevil, should first and foremost act responsibly on their own initiative rather than having to be obliged by the Central Government to take the required action if we are to save our palm trees in Malta and Gozo from becoming completely extinct within the next four to five years, with the cause of extinction being the neglect by human beings rather than the red palm weevil’s infestation itself. Once reported and registered, the affected palm/s should be scheduled for immediate removal by those in authority and not for the process to be shelved indefinitely until they find the time and money for them to act.

Originating in Southeast Asia, the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) appeared for the first time in Europe in 1994, in Almunecar (Granada). It is believed to have arrived in a consignment of infected palms imported from Egypt and other North African countries. Since then thousands of palm trees have been destroyed by this insect. In Spain, Sicily and Malta, the red palm weevil chiefly affects the Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and the Canary Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis). The California Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera) too have been affected in some Mediterranean countries. It can also affect other palm species such as the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) and Oil Palm (Elais guineensis).

The problem in Malta is that the elimination of infested palm trees was not applied systematically as soon as the pest was detected. The actual detection of such infested palm trees in their early stage of infection still remains a big problem here. In some Mediterranean countries dogs have been trained to sniff them out and have successfully tracked down RPW infested palm trees in the early stages of invasion long before humans could actually detect them.

The photo shows one of the five palm trees in Kappara’s public garden that has been infested and infected by the red palm weevil in just under 12 months. If this particular infested tree is not immediately uprooted and removed, the other four healthy looking palm trees just two metres away from it will be the next, if they are not already infested in the premature stages and have gone unnoticed. These four healthy looking palm trees have to be monitored and treated today, not tomorrow. Careful observation reveals the following signs that are indicative of the presence of the pest: holes in the crown or trunk from which chewed-up fibres are ejected (this may be accompanied by the oozing of brown viscous liquid); crunching noise produced by the feeding grubs can be heard when the ear is placed to the trunk of the palm (louder still if using a stethoscope) and withered bud/crown. Prevention being better than cure, or better still, than sudden (tree) death, it is highly recommended at this critical stage of the RPWs invasion that one should try as much as possible to completely abstain from pruning palm trees so as not to attract the RPW to the deposits of the sap left oozing on the trunk, and to monitor palm trees from time to time.

Louis Camilleri

KAPPARA