Red palm weevil ravages botanical garden

LOS BARRIOS (Agencies) Several palm trees close to the children's park have felt the ravages of the ubuitous red palm weevil. At least of these majestic trees have had to be cut down recently, and more victims are expected even though the Council had been taking preventive measures for eighteen months, when the plague had first been found. This has not stopped over twenty palm trees from contagion, which, according to the experts is because of a lack of treatment or prevention - or adequate disposal - in private gardens. A comment on one of the pages that deal with this subject says that there are no palms left on Calle de la Palmeras, in Campamento, which ought now to be renamed. The comment also suggested the Council should have treated all palm trees, public and private, and then charged the private owners for what is not a cheap treatment. In Tarifa, however, months of treatment combining injections, fumigation and irrigation managed to stop the palm trees at the Virgen de la Luz Sanctuary from being attacked. In some cases, trees that already harboured the red palm weevil, were cured.