Spain (Los Realejos): Pheromones are distributed to control the potato tuber moth.

The mayor of Los Realejos, Adolfo González, and the councilor for Rural Development, Alexis Hernández, held a meeting to coordinate actions supporting the primary sector, along with the municipal technician for the area, Rita Teresa Hernández, at the new offices of this service located on Calle El Medio Arriba, which shares headquarters with the Local Development Agency. Following this meeting, they announced the launch of a new pheromone distribution campaign to control the potato tuber moth among farmers growing this crop.

The distribution takes place at the Montaña Limón Residents’ Association in Las Llanadas from Monday to Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and at the headquarters of the Icod de los Trigos Cooperative from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., a coordinated action between the City Council and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, which is the promoting administration and that finances this allocation.

"In order to maintain a census or record of treatment areas with this type of control measures for the solanivorous potato moth, known as the Guatemalan potato moth, which has been affecting this crop in recent years, and to continue providing data to the studies being carried out in this regard, farmers must indicate the location of their crop plots when collecting pheromones," explained Adolfo González, who once again thanked "the commitment of the Government of the Canary Islands, the University of La Laguna and other entities, which is supported by the Los Realejos City Council, to combat this situation."

The mayor of Realejos insisted on "the need to maintain direct contact, listen, assist, and offer resources and support measures to the local agricultural sector, given the difficulties they face. The potato tuber moth, a crop particularly rooted in the Realejos midlands, both in Icod el Alto and in the surroundings of Las Llanadas and La Ferruja, is a scourge that has greatly affected local production in recent years."

Alexis Hernández explained that "just as in previous eradication campaigns, applying these pheromones to the fields will help farmers in this common task of continuing to mitigate the effects of this pest known as the Guatemalan moth that affects their fields."

The councilor explained that "the technique to be used could be summarized as the placement of traps containing these pheromones, approximately every 30 meters of land, to which the male moths are attracted and trapped, thereby seeking to reduce the incidence of the pest and ensuring that it neither attracts other types of insects nor affects other types of crops."