Monalonion velezangeli and Ceroplastes cundinamarcensis have considerably affected the leaf tissues of the 118 false peppers in this sector of the city center.
To control the actions of these insects, the Bogotá Botanical Garden carried out a phytosanitary treatment consisting of foliar spraying and fertilization and endotherapy.
The trees received irrigation and injections with natural extracts, resistance inducers, stimulants, amino acids, fertilizers, biological insecticides and repellents.
Bogotá, October 8, 2024. The trees are one of the main attractions of the Environmental Axis, a tourist corridor in the city center through which the clear waters of the San Francisco or Vicachá River flow channeled.
More than 200 trees, most of them species such as wax palm and false pepper, give a green touch to the brickwork appearance of this place between streets 1 and 10 and from where you can see the Monserrate hill in all its splendor.
However, the beauty of the 118 false peppers of the Environmental Axis, an exotic and long-lived species that reaches a height of 10 meters, pales at some times of the year due to the actions of two pests.
It is about Monalonion velezangeli y Ceroplastes cundinamarcensisinsects that considerably deteriorate their leaves and branches. Some look completely singed and others with bubblegum-like bubbles.
According to Gustavo Ardila, engineer of the Integrated Pest and Disease Management (MIPE) team at the Bogotá Botanical Garden (JBB), Monalonion velezangelibetter known as the coffee scorch bug, is the cause of its charred appearance. “It is a red and elongated insect from the high areas of the Coffee Region. In its immature states it feeds on the sap of the false pepper and in the punctures it makes, it leaves an opening that is used by a fungus that affects the tissues of the tree.”
This insect is a vector for the entry of the fungus. “When this happens, the tree forms a kind of resin that prevents new leaf buds from emerging. Between the insect and the fungus they cause its deterioration.”
For its part, Ceroplastes cundinamarcensis It is a fairly small insect of the order Hemiptera that feeds on the mineral salts of the tree and forms a soft shell as a defense mechanism.
Research on this pest assures that inside the shell the female is sucking the mineral salts from the tree and lays her eggs there; As they grow, their daughters form another shell nearby and that is why the entire branch is affected.
“Due to these two pests, the false peppers of the Environmental Axis receive on average two phytosanitary treatments per year consisting of activities such as spraying and foliar fertilization and endotherapy,” said Ardila.
New intervention
On October 1 and 2, the JBB engineer and his team of workers carried out the second phytosanitary treatment of the year on the 118 false peppers of the Environmental Axis, some of them quite affected by both pests.
“Monalonion velezangeli It has been present in this area of the city for approximately four years and that is why we carry out two annual interventions to keep its populations in low states of infestation,” said the expert.
With the Ceroplastes cundinamarcensisArdila has seen a considerable increase in recent months “we do not know for sure if this is due to environmental conditions in the area, but its impact is quite evident.”
The plant health professional divided his team of operators in two to carry out the new treatment: some were in charge of spraying and foliar fertilization, a misting of products on the leaves and branches; and others from endotherapy, an injection into the trunk of the tree.
Foliar spraying and fertilization consists of applying by air a mixture of specific and biological insecticides that repel pests and products to strengthen tree tissues.
“We use resistance inducers, amino acids, repellents and low-nitrogen fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium to harden the plant tissues of the false peppers,” said the engineer.
With endotherapy, tree individuals received an injection in several devices located around the trunk with foliar stimulants, resistance inducers, amino acids and specific insecticides to control low populations of both pests.
Ardila hopes that, with this new treatment, the false peppers of the Environmental Axis will be fully recovered by the month of December “they will recover their foliage and the pests will reduce their population.”
