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Prickly Pear Cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae, in Morocco: Vigilance and Perspectives

Published in Plant (Volume 12, Issue 4)
Received: 27 September 2024     Accepted: 22 October 2024     Published: 20 November 2024
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Abstract

The appearance in the Province of Sidi Bennour of a pest attacking the prickly pear was announced on 29-07-2015 by the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA). In case of heavy infestation and in the absence of control measures, the insect can cause plant dieback. Since then, it has caused the death of the prickly pear in all Moroccan regions, resulting in heavy damage for small farmers. This plant is known for its use in animal, industrial, cosmetic, therapeutic and environmental food and whose fruit is appreciated internationally. The development of resistant varieties and new control methods with the establishment of a monitoring system is necessary given the importance of this sector. An inventory of the report, the probable causes and the countermeasures of Morocco and at the level of other regions of the world in the face of this problem, was carried out. The spread of the pest in Morocco has continued to grow since its discovery in 2014. A control and awareness program was launched by ONSSA in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Ministry of Agriculture has devoted 80 million Dirhams to the operation to fight against the cochineal with the establishment of a vigilance and surveillance committee to manage the plan for uprooting and burying diseased cacti. In addition, a selection program for resistant varieties and treatment products was launched and carried out by the services of the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) in partnership with the various regional administrations of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture launched, on August 17, 2021 in social networks, a call for vigilance after the appearance of the insect in northern Algeria with the development of a three-year national strategy of control and to strictly apply agricultural quarantine to limit the spread of the insect.

Published in Plant (Volume 12, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15
Page(s) 126-130
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Vigilance Committee, Cochineal, FAO, INRA, Method of Combating

References
[1] Faouzi, H. 2015. Le figuier de Barbarie (l’Opuntia ficus-indica): un produit de terroir pour le développement local? Aknari des Aït Baâmrane (Anti-Atlas occidental, Maroc)‪ Les Cahiers d'Outre-Mer, n° 271(3), 375-400.
[2] Ahmed ben yahya, A. Etude de la composition et Intérêt des Cladodes du Figuier de Barbarie dans l’industrie agroalimentaire. Mémoire présenté en vue de l’obtention du Diplôme de Master. 2022. Université ABOU BEKR BELKAID/Alger.
[3] Gharby, S., Guillaume, D., Nounah, I., Harhar, H., Hajib, A., Matthäus, B. Charrouf, Z. (2021). Shelf-life of Moroccan prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) and argan (Argania spinosa) oils: a comparative study. Grasas y Aceites. 72. e397.
[4] Fahim, O. FAO: Pourquoi le cactus devrait être une «culture essentiellr» au Maroc.
[5] Abaouss, O. 05/05/2023. Figuier de barbarie : Le cactus gagne-t-il sa guerre contre la cochenille ? [INTÉGRAL].
[6] Anonymous, 23/08/2023. Figue de Barbarie, un fruit devenu hors de prix.
[7] Bouharroud, R, Sbaghi, M, Boujghagh, M, El Bouhssini, M. Biological control of the prickly pear cochineal DactylopiusopuntiaeCockerell (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae). First published: 29 June 2018. (2018)
[8] Bouharroud, R, Amarraque, A, Qessaoui, R. First report of the Opuntia cochineal scale Dactylopiusopuntiae (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) in Morocco. First published: 19 July 2016 (2016)
[9] Caabi, C, 13 Avril 2023. La cochenille décime les cactus au Maroc privant les amateurs de figues de barbaries de leur fruit préféré.
[10] Status of Cochineal and Opuntia spp. Prodaction in the near Est north Africa region. 2022. A perspective from Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. FAO, 2022. ISBN 978-92-5-137346-0
[11] Anonymous, 05/09/2018. Les figues de barbarie ne se relèvent toujours pas des ravages de la cochenille.
[12] Anonymous, 08/07/2019. ONSSA tient son Conseil d’administration. https://consonews.ma/18397.html
[13] Anonymous, 12/02/2018. Sensibilisation sur la Cochenille du cactus dans le Souss-Massa.
[14] Anonymous, PM Editions, 18/06/2022. La figue de barbarie atteint des pics : De nouvelles variétés pour faire oublier la pénurie…
[15] Sbaghi, M, Bouharroud, R, Boujghagh, M, EL Bouhssini, M. Sources de résistance d'Opuntia spp. contre la cochenille à carmin, Dactylopius opuntiae, au Maroc. First published: 22 October 2019 (2019)
[16] El Bouhissi, M, Ghefar, M, Sadine, SE, Gachi, M. Note Sur La Présence De Dactylopius Opuntiae (cockerell, 1896) Sur Le Figuier De Barbarie En Algérie (hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) Annales de la Recherche Forestière en Algérie Vol 12, Numéro 1, Pages 1-6. 2022-03-21 (2022).
[17] Anonymous, WMC avec TAP, 17/08/2021. Alerte : Apparition en Algérie d’un insecte qui s’attaque à la figue de barbarie.
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  • APA Style

    Bahouq, M., Bahouq, H., Soulaymani, A. (2024). Prickly Pear Cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae, in Morocco: Vigilance and Perspectives. Plant, 12(4), 126-130. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15

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    ACS Style

    Bahouq, M.; Bahouq, H.; Soulaymani, A. Prickly Pear Cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae, in Morocco: Vigilance and Perspectives. Plant. 2024, 12(4), 126-130. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15

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    AMA Style

    Bahouq M, Bahouq H, Soulaymani A. Prickly Pear Cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae, in Morocco: Vigilance and Perspectives. Plant. 2024;12(4):126-130. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15,
      author = {Madiha Bahouq and Hanane Bahouq and Abdelmajid Soulaymani},
      title = {Prickly Pear Cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae, in Morocco: Vigilance and Perspectives
    },
      journal = {Plant},
      volume = {12},
      number = {4},
      pages = {126-130},
      doi = {10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20241204.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.plant.20241204.15},
      abstract = {The appearance in the Province of Sidi Bennour of a pest attacking the prickly pear was announced on 29-07-2015 by the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA). In case of heavy infestation and in the absence of control measures, the insect can cause plant dieback. Since then, it has caused the death of the prickly pear in all Moroccan regions, resulting in heavy damage for small farmers. This plant is known for its use in animal, industrial, cosmetic, therapeutic and environmental food and whose fruit is appreciated internationally. The development of resistant varieties and new control methods with the establishment of a monitoring system is necessary given the importance of this sector. An inventory of the report, the probable causes and the countermeasures of Morocco and at the level of other regions of the world in the face of this problem, was carried out. The spread of the pest in Morocco has continued to grow since its discovery in 2014. A control and awareness program was launched by ONSSA in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Ministry of Agriculture has devoted 80 million Dirhams to the operation to fight against the cochineal with the establishment of a vigilance and surveillance committee to manage the plan for uprooting and burying diseased cacti. In addition, a selection program for resistant varieties and treatment products was launched and carried out by the services of the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) in partnership with the various regional administrations of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture launched, on August 17, 2021 in social networks, a call for vigilance after the appearance of the insect in northern Algeria with the development of a three-year national strategy of control and to strictly apply agricultural quarantine to limit the spread of the insect.
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