The City Council of Porto has commenced the removal of palm trees on Avenida D. Carlos I, in response to infestations of the red palm weevil, ‘Rhynchophorus ferrugineus’. This pest has been damaging trees in the area, according to an official notice on the council’s website.
The municipality reported that the removal involved taking down seven Canary Island date palms that have been in a state of senescence and beyond recovery.
The council stated that severe attacks by the pest over the years have completely destroyed the sole apical meristem of several ‘Phoenix canariensis’ palms, a species highly targeted due to the palatability of its heart.
This action takes place as part of the ongoing monitoring of the health and biomechanical stability of the city’s arboreal assets, as outlined by the municipality.
The removal was scheduled between Wednesday and today, aligning with the city’s efforts in the preservation and enhancement of municipal public tree heritage.
In February, the Porto City Council advertised a public tender for the acquisition of 12 palm trees. These are intended to replace those lost to the red palm weevil at locations including the Passeio Alegre garden, Avenida Dom Carlos I, and Praça dos Leões.
Explaining the initiative, the council pointed out that the tender aims to replace palm trees that did not survive the pest’s attacks.
“The Canary Island date palm is highly susceptible to red palm weevil attacks because it targets the palm’s sole apical meristem, necessitating regular maintenance and pest control,” the council emphasized.
The tender, with a baseline price of approximately 63,000 euros, is set to procure 11 palms of four meters or more and one palm of five meters or more in height.
These new palms will replace those lost in Praça dos Leões, the Passeio Alegre garden, and on Avenida Dom Carlos I, where the alignment of palms along the Douro River is recognized as being of public interest.
The Porto City Council has been monitoring the health of 130 palms across the city since 2020, applying biological treatments. More than 8,000 actions have been carried out since that time.
In 2023, the council conducted 1,599 interventions on city palms, a decrease from 2022, attributing this reduction to a new biological treatment.
Should this new method prove successful against the red palm weevil, the intervention frequency could drop to around 400 annually, as noted by the port’s municipality in prior communications.
In 2022, 2,535 interventions were made, while in 2021 and 2020, 1,869 interventions were recorded.
