I was intrigued to read recently that there has just been a 3 day International conference on the Phoenix Canariensis Palm tree in Santa Lucia, Gran Canaria. Who would attend one of these conferences and what would they discuss for three days?
The conference was held from the 18th to 21st November and had speakers from all over the world as well as local specialists from Spain and The Canary Islands such as Scott Zona from the Florida International University, Sarah Sallon from The Louis L Borick Natural Medicine Research Center in Jerusalem, Donald Hodel from the University of California, Gabriel Alziar from the Natural History Museum in Nice, Victoria Soroker from the Agricultural Research Organization in Jerusalem and Didier Rochat from INRA Centre de Versailles in France.
Topics included the biology, ecology and cultivation of the Phoenix Canariensis and advice on how to control the dreaded red weevil pest (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus). Apart from the 25 hours of lectures, the delegates did get out from the hotel on the last day to stretch their legs and enjoy a walk to see some local palm trees followed by a meal in a restaurant before flying home.
Red Weevil
The Red Weevil is a destructive palm tree pest, a female weevil will lay about 300 eggs in separate holes on a palm tree, these eggs hatch within 2-5 days and the grubs bore into the interior of the palm feeding on the soft tissue. The larvae stage lasts from 1-3 months and then the grub pupates into a cocoon for 14-21 days when the adult weevil emerges.
Weevils like new palms, ones under 20 years old as the flesh is still soft, it can be hard to determine if a palm tree is infested as the larvae are buried deep inside, an infected palm tree can often die. The Canarian government restricted the movement of the Canarian palm tree Phoenix Canariensis in an effort to control the pest, trees should be trimmed regularly but its important to leave 120cm from the base and treat the cut so that this open area does not attract the females to lay their eggs, any dead palms found to have the weevil are cut down and burned.
Palm Tree Syrup
The island of La Gomera produces a syrup from the Canary Island palm tree (Phoenix Canariensis) called Miel de Palma. During the months from January to June, the farmers climb their trees and remove most of the leaves from the crown of the palm, they then cut a hole in the top to create a pore and each night climb up the tree to remove the crust and place a bucket under the drain where up to ten litres of sap can collect over night, in the morning the farmer returns to the palm to remove the bucket and waits until nightfall to begin the process again. The sap known as guarapo is harvested at night as it spoils in the sunlight, the removal of the sap doesn’t harm the trees, they resume normal growth after the harvesting period and can be tapped every 4-5 years. The sap is boiled for several hours until it forms a dark rich syrup when its bottled.
Lanzarote Palm Trees – do you know the difference between a Canarian Palm and a Washington Palm?
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