Day 13/10/2016 a meeting was held at the agriculture councilorship in Ragusa to talk about what is happening to the carob trees in the Scicli area and in the surrounding areas.

The first problem that has been addressed is related to the yellowing of the foliage and the weakening of the carob branch which can be caused by mice, which by gnawing the plant leave it exposed to fungi and parasites causing its weakening and consequent death.

The carob pest: who is

By better analyzing some samples taken in the Scicli area in the laboratory, it was understood that the main problem is not the mice but a parasite imported from foreign countries and that is the xylosandrus compactus eichhoff.

It is a female beetle which causes damage to the tree by opening a small tunnel inside the plant to reach the marrow of the plant and then deposit the larvae there. These larvae are nourished by a fungus that she herself carries inside her body and which contributes to the weakening of the tree. Once deposited the larvae create from 1 a 3 galleries (2/3cm) inside the trunk to allow larval development to continue.

In mid-May the emergence of the larvae takes place, males do not fly because they have no wings, while the females fly in search of new colonizations.

Best practices and solutions

To date, no phytosanitary treatments have been found to eliminate this beetle. The only way to prevent or reduce infestation is to keep the plant healthy, therefore reduce pruning trauma, root damage or fire damage.

If possible, it is also necessary to irrigate the plants in the summer and fertilize them organically in the autumn. The most important thing to stop the procreation of this parasite is to cut and burn the branches or plants that have been heavily affected before the emergence, i.e. in February/March, so as to avoid infecting other trees.

Conclusions

The advice we can give everyone is to check our trees and contact the competent authorities if we notice any problems. Let's protect our carob tree.

Vincent Leone

cover photohttp://data.lsuinsects.org