Attacks palm trees: nasty pest discovered in Ticino

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Palm moths were first detected in Ticino this summer. In the announcement made on Monday from the canton of Ticino, it was stated that this pest coming from South America poses a significant threat to palm trees.

The Ticino regional department said the palm moth poses a threat not only to the Chinese hemp palm, which is rapidly spreading in Ticino and is considered a problematic invasive species, but also to the European dwarf palm, which is important for local ecosystems. Moth larvae (Paysandisia archon) burrow into the heart of palm trees, which in many cases causes the plants to die.

No palm moth repellent

The presence of the palm moth in Ticino has so far been confirmed in Brissago, Ronco sopra Ascona and Lugano. According to the statement, the high rate of local infestation in Brissago indicates that the butterfly appeared several years ago but remained undetected for a long time.

The most promising approach to slowing the spread of the pest is to cut down infected palm trees, the Regional Ministry said. The top of infested palm trees should be kept in a tightly sealed bag to prevent larvae or adult moths from escaping. The material packaged in this way can then be disposed of safely in the cantonal waste incinerator (KVA).

The canton stated that this measure aims to protect non-invasive ornamental palm species for as long as possible. There are currently no biological or synthetic plant protection products effective against palm moths approved for Switzerland. (SDA)

Source : Blick