Red palm weevil kills off 133,713 trees in Elche

MORE than 100,000 palm trees have been lost in Elche in the last four years because of the red palm weevil.

The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that from 2011 until November 30 2014, 133,713 palm trees had been destroyed in the city because of infestations of the palm weevil. They said in the last two years, €5.6 million had been spent on trying to combat the plague.

The figures were released in response to Carlos Gonzalez, Socialist councillor in Elche, who urged that a pact should be formed within the government to create a common strategy to combat the problem and to secure the future of the palm trees and the city’s famous Palm Grove.

Gonzalez criticised “the irresponsible and opaque attitude of the municipal government at the recent meeting of the Board of Palm in which the PP would not give any information on destruction of infected palms with the lame excuse that this data was protected.”