Editorial
JUNTA DE ANDALUCÍA. Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera. Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca, Agua y Desarrollo Rural
Abstract
The big-headed worm (Capnodis tenebrionis L) has become the main pest that affects almond cultivation, to such an extent that it can kill the plant and cause the plantations to be uprooted. Different factors such as the drought of recent years, the prohibition of using active materials that were effective in controlling the adult population and the abandonment of plantations have caused the insect population to increase considerably.
Although the adult can cause damage to the plant, these are not economically very important; however, it is the larva that devours the roots, reaching the neck of the plant, ending up drying it out.
This work tries to summarize the different tools available to the sector to reduce the risk posed by this pest, among them are soil management, use of different patterns, irrigation, biological control with nematodes and entomopathogenic fungi, authorized active materials , physical barriers etc.