Hiyam Noir
July 3 2010 / 04:12 AM
"Tuta Absoluta" is a devastating pest attacking Palestinian fields in Gaza Strip, and in the West Bank.Tuta Absoluta is considered to be a serious threat to the tomato production in the Mediterranean region. It has it's origin in South America, the pest invasion from South America find on the shores of the Mediterranean a perfect new home where it can breed between 10-12 generations a year. Each female can lay 250-300 eggs in her life time.
These creepy insects are crossing boarders and devastating the tomato production both inside protected greenhouses and on the open fields.The Gaza farmer Ala al-Din Muhammad, say he is fighting the vermin's in a race against time. He saw his own crop of tomatoes, in Marj Ibn Amer, fading away and die before his own eyes, without being able to do something.
Mr Ala al - Din Muhammad say -"Since the beginning of the season, we have noticed that the insects quickly infects the tomatoes at the beginning of maturity and that the fruit was full of worms. We have resorted to spray the field of new nets. The dealers have told us that the new counteract will destroy agricultural diseases including the insects."
"We did not have any previous knowledge about this insect, but as time goes by, we are being informed from dozens of other farmers having the same problem, and that the owners of greenhouses in the "Jezreel Valley" have complained of damaged fruits significantly." Mr Ala al-Din Muhammad say,did not pick more than a third of tomatoes of the expected production from his own land, and he assure that he never before heard of this devastating insect-pest.
Gaza and a new kind of insect invasion
In the besieged Gaza, where attacks from invading creepy insect's has become a horrific part of life and as a result, the impact of devastation on all levels of the society is extremely real, Mr Medhat Abu Shanab from the southern Mzaroath, has also found him self to be victimized by a slow agricultural death, caused by a new strange never seen before insect infesting his tomato farm. The Tuta Absoluta pest insect is attacking an area of three acres of Mr Medhat Abu Shanab's greenhouses. He discovered - when approaching the reap fruits of tomato seedlings, a real destruction penetration of the papers covering the fruits.
Abu Shanab have made contact with many agronomists, whom assured him the need to spray the pesticides Mzaroath. However, the pesticide did not stop the pest invasion. Tuta Absoluta is a very challenging pest to control. Despite suffering heavy material losses,the costs of these pesticides - are more than three thousand shekels - and it has not eliminated the insect but increased the decease, and the Tuta Absoluta is now threatening to devastate the entire agricultural harvest.
Medhat Abu Shanab said he has suffered great losses as a result of this insect invasion, the material losses are some 18 thousand shekels. He is using the advise and the recommendations from the Society of Agricultural Development, and then he resorted to the Ministry of Agriculture, each of them select what type of pesticide to be used. The result was the destruction of the crops and the invasion of this insect, the Tuta Absoluta.
Mr. Abu Shanab say that the insect Tuta Absoluta now is stabilized in the soil, which make it impossible to replant anything. He say, that both the official and the private agricultural, have failed in helping him and other farmers in the area to eradicate the insect. Mr Medhat Abu Shanab concludes,- "the Tuta Absoluta is the most devastating pest I have ever experienced through more than my eighteen years of farming".
The invasion of Tuta Absoluta has become a major concern to most farmers in Gaza and the West Bank, and it could - if not urgently controlled - eliminate the tomato production which would cause heavy economical losses.According to testimony from many of them,the insect also infect eggplant, peppers, potatoes.
The Tuta Absoluta pest invaded the Maghreb countries in 2003, according to Agricultural officials, it was first discovered in Egypt in 2005, then spreed it into the occupied Palestine in 2008, to be discovered in Gaza in the spring of 2010.In Gaza, the Director General of the Prevention and vegetation in the Ministry of Agriculture Engineer Ziad Hamada say that; "It is a fact that the ministry did not hesitate to do what is necessary, to control the spread of this insect, and to take firm measures in this regard, through the committees of Agricultural Engineers appointed for this purpose, he said: "We have a comprehensive inventory of the premises affected, and determine the problem and the treatment, and the development of the proposed solutions, to be able control the spread of this insect in the nearest future. "
FAO warning
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), issued a report warning of an insect, "Tuta Absoluta" which begin to appear in the Gaza Strip, and more prevalent in many other agricultural areas, threatening the agricultural season disaster, a treatment should be provided as soon as possible .
Ziad Hamada commented on the FAO report - which confirmed outbreak of "Tuta Absoluta" in the Gaza Strip, and that it will destroy 90% of the tomatoes harvest this year - that it contains a lot of fallacies, adding that the organization has apologized after he held two extensive meetings with them, during which the members were informed about the full extent of the problem..
Toxins ( Pesticides ) are expensive
According to Youssef Saleh, a merchant and trader of chemical pesticides in Jenin, on the West Bank; "the problem that emerged in the fields of Jenin are serious, the pest is moving between the greenhouses like an epidemic. Part of the problem is the high price of this particular pesticide, the farmers do not have enough money, to most farmers 650 shekels is a too high price to pay. Palestinian farmers can not provide this amount of money in the beginning of the season, and the tomatoes Fund is no longer equal to even a quarter of what the real cost's are."
Advise and assurances
Gaza farmers reassured Ziad Hamada that the spread of this insect in the Gaza sector has not yet reached the stage of the epidemic, calling for them to stay away from indiscriminate use of vehicles and chemicals, especially pesticides, so as to avoid resistance to the insect as a result, with the use of the pesticide at the right time and the right amount. Addressing Hamada Farms, he is saying: "Bug exists, but follow the instructions is the difference between your crops being infected or not," - he is pointing out that the spread of the insect, if it occurs, will reduce the production of tomatoes, and will cause heavy economical losses to the farmers.
There are 4500 to 5000 acres of greenhouses in the Gaza Strip grown annually, and another 3500 to 4000 acres of open land, cultivating the same crop. Ziad Hamad is assuring the citizens that the Tuta Absoluta insect, as far as it is known, is not having an impact on human health, and that the citizens can differentiate between infected and non infected fruit easily, instructing them how to handle the problem: " Just cut of the infected part of the fruit and eat the healthy part, without that it should not affect them negatively."
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