The Agricultural Cooperative of Producers of Organic Products of Chania (SYNVIO) after indicating to us the main avocado cultivation centers in Crete, we proceeded to the selection of pilot fields in the main avocado growing areas, namely in Fourne, Koufos, Mournies, Voukolies, Neo Horio (Apokoronas).
The producers of these fields are all members of the cooperative and follow practices according to the principles of organic farming.
In the above pilot fields, targeted on-site sampling of plant tissues (fruits, fruits, fruits, shoots, flowers, leaves, etc.) is carried out every ten days or fortnight to record possible pests and/or diseases. Sticky traps were posted in the same fields to record – identify various pests found in the aboveground. In addition, a McPhail-type pheromone trap has been placed in each field to check for the presence of the wood-eating insect Zeuzera pyrina and a multi-funneral trap with a specific attractant (kairomone) to check for the presence of possible new invasive species such as Euwallacea sp. Fusarium euwallaceae which have been implicated in tree dieback in Israel.
The agronomists under recruitment, R. Tontou and I. Petrakis, by participating actively and over time in plant protection practices, will be able not only to assimilate the principles of plant protection, but also to transmit them to those directly interested – producers of this crop (Linking research with the primary sector).
