Filoxérico service. Exploration and extinction work carried out under the direction of the late brother D. Juan Miret

Date: 1879 - 1880

Archive: Municipal Archive of Castelló d’Empúries

Document type: Textual

Reference code: CAT-AMCE-49-824

Link to the online document

Description: The arrival, in 1879, of the phylloxera in the Altempordanese vineyard from France led to an agricultural crisis. The delegate of the Agricultural Institute of Sant Isidre, Joan Miret, was appointed royal commissioner to deal with the plague. The plan, drawn up by Miret himself, details the farms around the city of Figueres affected by the phylloxera plague. Joan Miret’s strategy consisted of treating the affected strains with high doses of sulphide, taking the experience of Switzerland. The treatment did not work and many detractors emerged who complained about the death of the strains when, despite being affected, they would still have been productive. Miret held the position for six months. In order to argue his method, he published a text entitled “La verdad sobre la campaña contra la phylloxera en el Ampurdán (province of Gerona)” published in Barcelona in 1880.

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