In vitro technology was being used in the government’s attempts to save the fig tree from extinction, Agriculture Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said.
Some 3,000 tress, being grown in specialised labs, are expected to be planted in the coming weeks across the island to replenish the threatened local fig tree population.
Known as micropropagation, the in vitro process is commonly used to produce a large number of ‘offspring plants’. The method employs tissue culture methods similar to those used for the scientific production of organs.
About three quarters of the estimated 6,000 fig trees in Malta and Gozo are believed to have died in recent years as the species continues to lose the battle against a foreign pest.
The fig tree borer, better known under the Maltese umbrella term susa, eats its way into the tree’s bark, feasting on the tree’s nutrient-rich sap to the point of starving the plant.
Mr Galdes told the Times of Malta the government was committed to protecting the local plant but measures taken so far had proven unsuccessful. He said the pest, scientifically known as Hypocryphalus scabricollis, was particularly resilient and widespread.
There isn’t a lot of research on which active ingredients are best to kill it
A spokesman for the Plant Health Directorate running the government’s fig action plan said the in vitro method had been used successfully against pests overseas.
He said farmers had experienced a shortage of mulberries in the UK a few years ago but had replenished the species while new pesticides were being developed.
In the absence of an adequate pesticide, the spokesman said the best way to combat the pest right now was to remove infected parts of the tree and burn it.
The fig tree borer eats its way into the fig tree’s bark, feasting on its nutrient-rich sap.“Since the pest is relatively new, there isn’t a lot of research on which active ingredients are best to kill it,” he noted. One recently discovered method, he added, was to wrap the trees in copper in winter months, which acted as a deterrent to the insect.
Tommy Portelli, 68, a fourth-generation farmer, is losing the battle against the borer. Walking around his terraced Baħrija farm in disbelief, he looks on helplessly as his once-healthy trees turn to empty husks. “These aren’t figs at all, they’re rubbish,” he said, picking one of the bitter fruit that hangs from his infected trees
Annual Maltese fig crops traditionally yield hundreds of thousands of kilos in early green figs (bajtar ta’ San Ġwann) and tens of thousands of kilos of dry purple figs (farkizzan).
But fruit vendor John Zammit, who purchases fruit from Mr Portelli and other small farm owners, is expecting a poor harvest. “The price of figs already went up last summer due to a lack of supply. I’m not even sure what price they’ll fetch this harvest. I hope we don’t end up losing them altogether as has happened with other local fruit,” he said.
Mr Galdes said the government would be launching an information campaign for local farmers on methods to prevent infection. New research was also being carried out in collaboration with the University of Malta, aimed at finding solutions to the fig problem.
Paul Debattista, an agriculture officer who regularly inspects registered fig trees, said: “Figs are in serious trouble. It started in the north of the island, but now we’re receiving reports that it has spread as far south as Safi and Żurrieq. This is definitely alarming and we need a solution.”